The ‘Aalborg Charter’ (1994) is an urban sustainability initiative approved by the participants at the first European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns in Aalborg, Denmark. It is inspired by the Rio Earth Summit’s Local Agenda 21 plan, and was developed to contribute to the European Union’s Environmental Action Programme, ‘Towards Sustainability’.

The Charter is based on the consensus of individuals, municipalities, NGOs, national and international organisations, and scientific bodies. More than 3,000 local authorities from more than 40 countries have signed the Charter. This has resulted in the largest European movement of its type and started the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign.

After over 20 years, the spirit of the Aalborg Charter remains. It prepared the ground for a variety of schemes and movements for local sustainability, such as the Aalborg Commitments and eventually the Sustainable Cities Platform.