SUGAR focuses on the problem of inefficient and ineffective management of urban freight distribution, a critical component of the overall urban transport system and a primary source of vehicle pollutant emissions. SUGAR promotes the exchange, discussion and transfer of policy experience, knowledge and good practices in the field of urban freight management, with regards to policy and planning levers, between advanced and less experienced city sites. SUGAR bases its approach on the study of EU good practices for the development of tools to support policy making, including:

• Training sessions, workshops and joint planning events, in which the administrations will directly benefit from the knowledge gained through their participation, successively utilised in addressing national, regional and municipal policy developments;
• Development of city logistics publications and training products, which will record the knowledge gained during SUGAR.

• Increased capacity of public administrations’ staff (partner and non-partner) in implementing more effective and efficient policy levers and planning approaches for city logistics;
• Direct improvement of regional and local policies for city logistics (12 sites directly, with a second wave of minimum 5 sites in the project enlarged transfer programme).

The SUGAR partnership involves 16 institutions (17 considering Prague) divided in:

4 good practice sites representing the Emilia Romagna Region (IT) and primary European cities such as London (through Transport for London) (UK), Paris (FR) and Barcelona (ES);

7 European transfer sites, ranging from small to large cities and regions. Palma de Mallorca (ES), Region of Crete (GR), Poznań (PL), Vratsa (BG), Celje (SL), Usti nad Labem (CZ) and Prague (CZ, through the partner Czech Railways);

2 European networks targeting key public administration stakeholders working in transport: POLIS (BE) at the local/regional level and CEI (IT) at the national one;

4 public equivalent bodies in the policy making activities of three SUGAR sites: ITL (Emilia Romagna Region site-IT), INRETS (Paris site-FR), ILIM (Poznan site-PL), Czech Railways. The Project will last from November 2008 to February 2012.