During the period 2000 to 2006, operation of the Cohesion Policy has shown that integrating environmental considerations into economic decisions can produce significant savings and improve profit and productivity. In particular, this has been the case in the areas of improving waste management and resource efficiency including water conservation via metering and reducing energy used for space heating. In addition, the profile, reputation and competitiveness of a city can be enhanced by the adoption of integrated management approaches as has been seen with cities like Aalborg (in respect of the Aalborg commitments6) and those in the Liveable Cities7 project
