In October 2022, C40 launched Transforming Cities, a branded series produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, which examined how cities around the world are delivering inclusive climate action.
The campaign sparked a conversation within and beyond the 14 cities it featured – earning more than 3.5 million video views, 3.7 million social engagements, 330,000 page visits to the BBC.com microsite, and recognition at the 2023 WHO Health for All Film Festival. It reaffirmed the pivotal role that cities can play in building a more sustainable future – and revealed a global audience keen to know more.
Two years on, and the impact of intersecting climate, health and economic crises is being felt globally. With nearly 70% of people set to live in cities by 2030, urban areas are uniquely placed to respond to the most pressing climate challenges.
In this context, C40 is delighted to announce a sequel to Transforming Cities, again produced by BBC StoryWorks, to launch in early 2025. The new series will explore how cities and their partners are building a more resilient and equitable future, through selected case studies demonstrating exceptional impact.
The new series will be made up of powerful short brand films alongside in-depth written and audio pieces, spotlighting stories of cities working collaboratively to advance climate resilience and adaptation, urban infrastructure, and community-led initiatives. It will refine the focus towards the people and key actors at the heart of an equitable green transition, looking to share untold stories across key impact areas, including:
- Adaptation and resilience
- Air quality
- Buildings
- Clean energy
- Climate and health
- Climate finance
- Food
- Smart and low-carbon mobility
- Transportation
- Waste
The new series will go live on a dynamic, branded microsite on BBC.com and c40.org in early 2025. A multi-platform digital campaign will engage relevant audiences from among BBC.com’s 155 million monthly browsers, amplified through communication by C40 cities and their partners.
The cities and organisations in the C40 network will once again have the opportunity to take an active part in the campaign. If your organisation has a story to share in line with the above themes, please share expressions of interest by 14 June 2024 at bbcstudios.com/city-stories.
Note: This deadline has now been extended to 12 July 2024.
A team of BBC StoryWorks researchers, producers and writers will work closely with selected organisations to create dynamic and vivid pieces of branded content, and partners will be supported by BBC StoryWorks and C40 to promote the content on their own channels.
We look forward to engaging with cities and their residents across the world with these inspiring stories later this year.
For further information, please contact:
- Shahnoor Abbas, Series Developer at BBC StoryWorks
- Emily Barber, Senior Manager of Strategic Communications, Partnerships and Insights at C40