As a movement of cities, towns, counties and their associations, ICLEI develops and runs a broad range of campaigns and programmes that address local sustainability while protecting global common goods (such as air quality, climate, water), and link local action to internationally agreed goals and targets.

The Africa Secretariat runs a variety of initiatives and programmes throughout the African continent. These include:

• An Energy and Climate Change Programme
• A Water and Sanitation Programme
• Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) focusing on Urban Biodiversity
• A Sustainable Consumption and Production Initiative
• A range of related Sustainable Urban Planning and Development projects related to Local Agenda 21 and Integrated Environmental Management