by Ann Withanee — July 8, 2011—San Francisco grabbed the mantle of “greenest” major city in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, with New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston rounding out the top five U.S. cities. The innovative study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by Siemens Corp., assesses and compares 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies across nine categories: CO² emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.
“The Green Cities Index demonstrates that America’s cities are the driving force behind the nation’s sustainability efforts,” said Eric Spiegel, president and CEO, Siemens Corp. “Despite the fact that we do not have a federal climate policy in the United States—and no federal carbon standard—21 of the 27 cities in the index have already set their own carbon reduction targets. Cities are creating comprehensive sustainability plans, utilizing current technology, and proving every day that we don’t have to wait to create a more sustainable future.”
The study of U.S. and Canadian cities provided some important key findings. Notably, cities that performed best in the rankings are the ones that have comprehensive sustainability plans that encompass every aspect of creating a greener future including transportation, land use, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and water. And while there is a correlation between wealth and environmental performance, it is weaker in the U.S. and Canada than in Europe and Asia.
“City budgets are as tight as they have ever been, but mayors are leading the charge around making their cities more sustainable because they know they can’t afford to push these decisions off until tomorrow,” said Alison Taylor, Chief Sustainability Officer for the Americas, Siemens Corp. “Our goal with the Green City Index is to identify best practices, advance good ideas and provide a baseline for cities to help them set targets for themselves so that they can serve as role models for others with their innovative policies.”
Siemens says the scope of the U.S. and Canada Green City Index is unique. The nine categories are based on 31 individual indicators, 16 of which are quantitative (e.g. consumption of water and electricity per capita, recycling rate, and use of public transportation) and 15 qualitative (e.g. CO² reduction targets, efficiency standards and incentives for buildings, and environmental governance). A key element of the study is the comparability of the results from each city within the individual categories and in the overall evaluation. The study also includes in-depth city portraits that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each urban center, while also highlighting initiatives and projects from which other cities can learn.
“Generally speaking, American cities fared well as compared to other global regions in the areas of air and waste policies as well as recycling and water infrastructure,” said Tony Nash of the Economist Intelligence Unit. “While public transportation was well-supported and incentivized in a number of cities, it was clear that take up is limited outside of the most densely populated cities. CO² emissions and electricity use are also notably higher in the U.S., but the evolving policy environment at local, state and national levels are opening up significant areas for improvement.”
The overall ranking results of the U.S. and Canada Green City Index are:
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Announced at the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival, the U.S. and Canada Green City Index is the fifth study in the Green City Index series. Other indices in the series cover Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Germany.
More information on the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, including individual city rankings for CO², Energy, Land Use, Buildings, Transport, Water, Waste, Air and Environmental Governance, is available from the study’s sponsor, Siemens Corp.
