The Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) is a collaboration of leading global cities working to achieve carbon neutrality in the next 10-20 years – the most aggressive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction targets undertaken anywhere by any city.

CNCA’s mission is to mobilize transformative climate action in cities in order to achieve prosperity, social equity, resilience and better quality of life for all on a thriving planet.

Context

In March 2023 I was approached by Irene Garcia of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) to facilitate a 3-day event in Lille in June. In her first draft agenda she wrote:

“The project “Dramatically Reducing Embodied Carbon in Europe’s Built Environment” led by Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) aims to organize an in-person meeting in 2023 gathering the cities participating in the project.

The program will focus on developing an understanding of what the built environment looks like today in European cities, what are the main drivers and game changers to have the highest potential to produce deep, durable GHG emissions reductions in key systems at a “transformational” scale, and what efforts and policy changes would be required for cities to double down efforts on its decarbonization.

Recognizing the urgency, magnitude and multi-level nature of the change required in the built environment, the meeting will provide room for multi-level conversations with national and EU stakeholders. The organizations leading the national work in France, Finland and Scotland, as well the European work will be invited to join and contribute to the discussions.

Further, the programme will showcase to participants the hosts’ stellar projects to address embodied carbon and/or increase the use of bio-based materials, and seek to engage key community stakeholders involved in the projects that the group will visit.

The results of the workshop will feed into the ongoing project of CNCA and will influence future work from 2024 onwards.”

I learned in conversation with Irene that it would be only the second in-person, and final, meeting of a three-year project where cities have been participating to get policy support to address embodied carbon and increase the use of bio-based materials in their built environment.  The group had had bi-monthly online meetings that would continue to the end of 2023. She hoped to use this final in-person meeting to create a moment where all participants could reflect together on where cities were at the moment, share their insights and approaches in a meaningful way that resonates and co-create some solutions to specific challenges they were currently facing.

Participants would be mostly city officials, including climate directors or technical staff in charge of the built environment. We would also have some participants dealing with the built environment at the national and EU level, as well as the project’s funder.  She expected a group of up to 30 people, and the hosting city would provide meeting space.  A photographer and videographer would help to record the meeting for publicity purposes.

Aims

In conversation, the aims of the meeting were agreed as follows:

• to reflect and learn together on where cities are at the moment, and co-create solutions to specific challenges they are currently facing – in particular, what are the main drivers and game changers, and what efforts and policy changes would be required,
• to provide room for multi-level conversations, including those leading the national work in France, Finland and Scotland,
• to share top-notch practices in a meaningful way that resonates, to think out of the box and untap all the knowledge in the room,
• to inform the ongoing project of CNCA and identify support that cities need from 2024 onwards,
• to inspire, energise and enthuse, and build a sense of shared trust, commitment and mutual support.

Methodology and approach

I proposed to draw on the following three of ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) methods in particular, plus other methods and tools as appropriate:

The Focused Conversation method provides a structured, four-level process for effective communication which ensures that everyone in a group has the opportunity to participate.

The Consensus Workshop method is a five stage process that enables a facilitator to draw out and weave together everybody’s wisdom into a clear and practical consensus.

The Participatory Strategic Planning process is a 5-stage process, each stage typically involving a specially tailored Consensus Workshop process.

Design, adaptation and delivery

A key aspect of the meeting’s design was to work in three different venues around the city, each selected by the host city to highlight different aspects of building decarbonization—a central theme of the sessions. This added a dynamic layer to the event and allowed participants to fully experience the city’s commitment to sustainability.

I wasn’t able to visit the rooms in advance of designing the agenda and process, however I received pictures of the venue and I was able to arrive early on each day to set up the layout and adapt the methodology to suit each space.  I was able to arrive in Lille early enough to view the first room on the afternoon before the meeting began, and the group’s site visits allowed me time during the meeting to plan and prepare in advance how best to make use of the other two.

In the end I was (just) able to use the Consensus Workshop method for a vision workshop, as I had proposed. I used the ToP Participatory Strategic Planning process as a design framework for the flow of the following sessions, but took considerable liberties with the methods and tools used for each – in order to best align with the agreed aims of the event, as well as to align with what would work best in the spaces available. I used the Focused Conversation method for opening and closing conversations throughout, and as a design framework for the structure of individual sessions.

The event began on Tuesday in a large, multi-purpose function space opening on to the lobby of the modern Lille Metropole headquarters building (pictured). Cabaret style seating at pairs of tables served to accommodate an opening World Cafe conversation.

The rear of one of the doors from the lobby provided just enough space for a small sticky wall wide enough to accommodate a vision workshop using the Consensus Workshop method, by clustering cards in columns instead of groups. Delegates sat at their World Cafe tables to brainstorm and write their ideas on cards, and they stood at smaller, high tables for the clustering of cards and naming of clusters at the sticky wall.

After lunch was a slide presentation of the City Handbook for Building Carbon Neutral Buildings, followed by questions and discussion, and then the group left for their first site visit at Blanchemaille while I turned my attention to the space we would be using the next day.

On Wednesday we met at the site of that afternoon’s visit at EuraTechnologies, a refurbished factory building. The large meeting room (pictured) was able to accommodate circles of chairs at one end, for a Fishbowl conversation on challenges in the morning, and cabaret style seating at pairs of tables for working on strategies and implementation the afternoon.

Once again, the many pillars in the room were not too much of an obstacle to people being able to see each other. A large, flat expanse of wall space by the window was able to accommodate a larger sticky wall. That was useful for displaying flip charts after they had been presented to the group, even though it was not central to the seating area and so not easily visible from all tables.

A large screen TV was available for short slide presentations illustrating strategies for success.  As the group took their visit around the site at the end of the day, I returned to the hotel to prepare the space for final morning on Thursday.

On Thursday morning we met in the delightful former chapel of the charming and historic L’Hermitage Gantois (pictured), the hotel where delegates had been staying.

The space was very much larger than necessary, it had poor accoustics and nothing could be attached to the walls. However, the projector screen worked well enough to accommodate a sticky wall for the purpose of convening an Open Space style workshop, as did the banqueting style tables. As delegates left throughout the morning for their trips home, it was very convenient to be located at the hotel rather than somewhere else.

Feedback and impact

Participants’ on-site feedback included:

• Room for discussions and disagreement
• A good flow and engagement of the group within the sessions
• Capacity to listen to each other
• Everyone can participate
• Open conversation and sharing of knowledge
• Not many presentation but discussions
• Very nice & rich programme, great contributions!
• Good solutions, focused final session!
• New insights & contacts
• Dessert
• ♥

Irene wrote soon after the workshop, on LinkedIn:

Really inspiring to witness first hand the tremendous progress that European cities are making to decarbonize the built environment. And how every year they keep breaking new ground over what gets to be constructed and how to mainstream sustainable buildings and dramatically reduce their embodied carbon.

She added in October 2024:

I had the pleasure of working with Martin Gilbraith for a 3-day event in Lille in June 2023 as part of the “Dramatically Reducing Embodied Carbon in Europe’s Built Environment” project, led by the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA). His facilitation skills played a crucial role in guiding multi-level conversations among participants. He was instrumental in organizing the flow of the sessions and seamlessly adapted to the unique needs of the group, making sure that the voices of all stakeholders were given due consideration. His preparation, energy, and professionalism enabled us to dive deeply into the complexities of decarbonizing the built environment, and the results of this workshop were wonderful.

Credit: video and photos as indicated by Fabrice Caterini, Inediz.

See also about me, how I work, who I work with and recommendations & case studies, and please contact me about how we might work together.