09 July 2011
Miami shines for international business, but it has far to go become one of the world’s greenest cities, according to a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit commissioned by Germany’s engineering giant Siemens.
Of 27 metropolitan areas studied in the United States and Canada, Miami ranked 22, just behind Atlanta. The greenest city by far was San Francisco, followed by Vancouver.
The study looked at cities in nine areas – CO2, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air and environmental governance. It examined 31 indicators across the nine categories, including carbon emissions and reductions strategy, waste recycling and green space.
Here are the rankings and scores for cities studied in the United States and Canada:
1. San Francisco, 83.8
2. Vancouver, 81.3
3. New York City, 79.2
4. Seattle, 79.1
5. Denver, 73.5
6. Boston, 72.6
7. Los Angeles, 72.5
8. Washington, D.C., 71.4
9. Toronto, 68.4
10. Minneapolis, 67.7
11. Chicago, 66.9
12. Ottawa, 66.8
13. Philadelphia, 66.7
14. Calgary, 64.8
15. Sacramento, 63.7
16. Houston, 62.6
17. Dallas, 62.3
18. Orlando, 61.1
19. Montreal, 59.8
20. Charlotte, 59.0
21. Atlanta, 57.8
22. Miami, 57.3
23. Pittsburgh, 56.6
24. Phoenix, 55.4
25. Cleveland, 39.7
26. St. Louis, 35.1
27. Detroit, 28.4
Researchers said San Francisco won partly because it is the first U.S. city to require composting and recycling for residents and businesses. It also has strong city-business partnerships on green programs.
The report is part of a larger Green City Index that also examines cities in other world regions for their environmental sustainability.
Siemens, based in Germany, is a world leader in engineering and electronics active in such industries as energy and healthcare. It has more than 405,000 employees in 190 countries and posted worldwide revenues of $102.9 billion in 2010, the company said.
For the complete report on the US and Canada Green City Index, see the press section of Siemens’ Web site, www.siemens.com, or click here.