The Borough of Lousã was recognised as the second most sustainable municipality in the country, with the ECOXXI award, established by the European Blue Flag Association, being presented in a ceremony that took place in Estarreja.

In this round, Lousã's application once again improved its score, moving up one place on the board and obtaining its best classification ever.

Hoisting an ECOXXI flag signifies, above all, the council's commitment to working towards sustainability in the environmental, economic, and social fields, ast the same time paying special attention to the importance of education.

The assessment of the activities, practices, and policies carried out in various areas of sustainability is based on a system of 21 indicators and was undertaken by a group of people and groups - including more than 40 institutions - that compose the National ECOXXI Commission and were aggregated into specialised juries.

The thematic areas covered by the various indicators embraace the environmental, social, and economic domains, and range from environmental education to sustainable tourism, water and air quality, waste management and sanitation, mobility and land use planning, as well as public engagement, employment and citizen information, among others.

Fifty boroughs from across the country took part in the 2018 ECOXXI Award.