Dear Sir / Madame,

It is my great pleasure, on behalf of the UBC Commission on Environment Secretariat and the EnvCom Co-chairs, to welcome you to the Annual Meeting of the Commission. At the same time time, I also strongly encourage you to use the opportunity to participate at the large and important European conference on local authority actions - Towards Waste-Free Lifestyles. Please, find attached my invitation letter in UBC letterhead.

The conference will take place in Turku 28-29 October, and the EnvCom meeting will be organised back-to-back, on the 27th of October. Please, find attached the information package of the conference and the draft agenda of the EnvCom meeting.

The UBC is one of the main organisers of the European conference. The topic is very relevant and interesting, and the content programme is an excellent combination of key note presentations, panel discussions, workshops, on-site study visits and exhibitions - presenting good implemented practices from all over Europe. The conference language is English. Simultaneous translation will be organised to Russian, French and Finnish. Please, find more details in the attached conference programme.

Please, also note that UBC members have a reduced participation fee and that there is no fee for participants from the new member states and Russia. Joint bus
transport with economic price will be organised for participants from the Baltic States. Please, see the practical information sheet for more information.

To register for the conference, please, use the attached registration form. Please, register asap, as space is limited and registrations are being accepted in chronological order.

To register for the EnvCom Annual Meeting, please, notify Project Assistant Mr. Sakari Saarinen by e-mail (sakari.saarinen@turku.fi). Please, include in the e-mail message you full name, title, city/organisation and contact information.

Looking forward to meeting you in Turku, I remain,

Yours Sincerely,

Risto Veivo
Head of Secretariat
Union of the Baltic Cities
Commission on Environment Secretariat
Linnankatu 41
FIN - 20100 Turku, Finland
Tel: +358 2 262 3172
Fax: +358 2 253 8613