Case E Turning a Gemstone into a Diamond: A Green Design and Branding Strategy for The City of Bucharest

Today, more than half of the world’s population are urban dwellers, this number being forecast by the United Nations to increase to 69 percent by 2050. Cities are the biggest consumers of electricity, gas and heat (Urban Investment Network 2011). This, along with demographic change and the fact that 80 percent of world economic growth is powered by cities and that 75 percent of the emissions are coming from urban locations (Fox-Martin 2009), have made city leaders realize the importance of sustainable development and that the fate of our global climate lies in the future actions of cities (Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research 2008). As FrankLee (2011), Head of Holding Funds and Advisory, states: “cities ought to play a crucial role in accomplishing climate change objectives and energy efficiency, so the new trend is directed towards sustainability”.