Vancouver and Victoria have tied for top marks in their respective size categories in Corporate Knights’ 2011 Sustainable Cities rankings.
The magazine’s rankings, announced this week, are based on infrastructure and built environment, governance and empowerment; economic security; ecological integrity and social well-being.
“This is an honour for Vancouver to be recognized as a leading Canadian city on the environmental front for the second year in a row,” Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a press release. “The recognition confirms we’re on the right track with actions underway or planned to help us become the world’s greenest city by 2020.”
Corporate Knights awarded Vancouver top marks in the country for governance and empowerment, with particularly high marks for education, household garbage limit and municipal greenhouse gas emission reduction target.
Vancouver led its size category for ecological integrity, receiving high marks for air quality, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, urban biodiversity monitoring program and water quality.
The city, however, ranked last in is size category for economic security, pulled down by household spending on shelter.
Victoria received top marks in the country for social well-being and led every metric in its size category – where it was ranked next to Yellowknife, Saint John, Saskatoon, Charlottetown and Whitehorse – except in economic security, where it was similarly pulled down by household spending on shelter.