How sustainable is your city?

Launched in June 2022, a new and novel index reveals how well cities worldwide are engaging in sustainability and climate action. The Corporate Knights Sustainable Cities Index gave each of the fifty selected cities an A-F grade based on 12 key indicators ranging from air quality, transportation, and water to land use, energy policy and climate change resilience. Only two North American cities found themselves in the coveted top ten — Vancouver with an A rating and Toronto with a B rating. Both cities have an opportunity to increase their index standing by improving transportation and consumption-based climate emissions. But the index isn’t just reserved for the selected cities. Local government officials are invited to join the index by entering their city's data into the user-friendly data hub and seeing how they stack up on a global scale.

Analysis of the index also found that female mayors are emerging as climate leaders. Although the majority of selected cities are led by male mayors, the top three cities on the sustainability index are led by women including Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. Female mayors are also leading bold sustainability and climate change initiatives in other global cities, including the Canadian cities of Calgary and Montreal.

Photo by benedek from Getty Images/Canva

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