MEPs and top European civil servants were urged to press ahead with green infrastructure at the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development conference in Brussels.
They were among 150 delegates who heard the presentation by vice president of the European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) Lutze von Wurmb.
ELCA has been instrumental in lobbying for EU research funding within the Horizon 2020 framework and the European Regional Development Fund to prove the positive impact and importance of urban green space.
In his speech, von Wurmb appealed to politicians and civil servants alike to continue to press ahead with the expansion of green infrastructure within the urban environment.
He also highlighted the importance of the Green City Initiative, which advocates improving the living quality in cities through the inclusion of more public and private green space.
"We are working intensively to ensure these attitudes gain acceptance throughout Europe so that they become concrete political activities," he said.
BALI is the UK’s representative body within ELCA and plays an active role in its lobbying activities on behalf of the wider UK landscape industry.
Chief operations officer Wayne Grills said: "By keeping the importance of green infrastructure to the wealth and health of nation states at the top of the agenda, ELCA is helping to secure the long-term future of our industry."
