By Melissa Rynolds

Imagine a risk-free marketplace where city leaders can mix with private sector board members and exchange best practices and utilize global resources. The goal? To deliver resource efficiency throughout cities worldwide.

The SlimCity Initiative accomplishes this. The World Economic Forum Industry Partnership focuses on the sustainable development of all aspects of a city with the goal of decreased carbon emissions and increased resource efficiency. All of this focuses on the industries of energy, mobility, chemicals, engineering & construction, health, water and real estate & technology.

With cities as the centre of both economic and population growth, more than 50% of the population lives in cities with that number growing to 60% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Cities are also the centre of energy consumption. As a result they account for about 67% of global energy demand and emit about 70% of CO2 emissions globally.

With city leaders implementing sustainable solutions, the benefits can be felt worldwide. Members of SlimCity's Steering Board include Fluor Corporation Chairman and CEO Alan Boeckmann, Hertz Global CEO Mark Frissora, Siemens President and CEO Loscher, Suez Executive Chairman, President and CEO Gerard Mestrallet, Bombardier President and Executive VP Andre Navarri, CH2M Hill Chairman and CEO Ralph Peterson and Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO Jim Rogers.

The advisors to SlimCity's Mayors and Governors' Board include State of Mexico Governor Enrico Pena Nieto, Milan, Italy mayor Letizia Moratti, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and London mayor Ken Livingstone.

The program is structured into three different streams which deal with different issues:

Smart Energy - deals with energy systems that are cleaner and more efficient as well as offering new services and choices to consumers. It is coordinated by the energy and IT communities.

Sustainable Buildings - addresses the full life cycle of buildings from the beginning with materials production, design, construction through to building codes. This is coordinated by the chemical, engineering & construction and real estate industry communities.

The Future of Urban Mobility - addresses the development, integration and operations and maintenance of urban mobility with emphasis on sustainability, access and demand management. This is coordinated by the mobility industry community.

Primarily, SlimCity participants can take part in structured sessions that are facilitated by the forum in meetings such as the Annual Meeting, Davos and regional summits. Sessions are also hosted by initiative partners and an on-line knowledge exchange platform is in the future as well.

An annual global survey given to mayors and governors will also help identify issues that cities are focusing on, the priority of these issues, the perceived solutions and the timeline for tackling the issues. SlimCity is a partnership between the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, UN Habitat, the International Energy Agency and ICLEI, the global city network.