By TRACY SHERLOCK, Vancouver Sun | September 8, 2011
Vancouver is the greenest city in Canada, and ranks second only to San Francisco in North America, a newly released environmental assessment has found.
Vancouver ranks No. 1 with the fewest carbon dioxide emissions and best air quality, but was 10th in environmental governance, according to the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The index was released in the U.S. in June, and in Canada on Thursday.
Coun. Andrea Reimer, chair of the city’s planning and environment committee, said being No. 1 in Canada is a good start, but Vancouver still has a lot of room for improvement, particularly in reducing water consumption and waste production. Vancouver’s goal, as set by Mayor Gregor Robertson, is to become the greenest city in the world by 2020.
The Economist report assesses and compares 27 U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies in nine categories — CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transportation, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.
Vancouver was the top ranked Canadian city in all categories, but one — Calgary was No. 1 in water conservation and infrastructure, while Vancouver was seventh.
Similar rankings are done for regions around the world, but the measurements are not the same, so it’s impossible to say exactly where Vancouver ranks globally.
“Probably I would hazard that Vancouver would be in the top 10-15, and are [in other standings] that I’ve seen globally, but it’s definitely water and waste that drags us down,” Reimer said. “We are one of the worst water wasters in the world and one of the highest waste generators in the world.”
Reimer said the city’s food scraps program and mattress recycling program are positive steps to reduce waste.
The report calls Vancouver’s CO2 emissions reductions and its air quality “impressive.” In both categories, Vancouver ranked first in North America, with emissions of both CO2 and particulates far lower than the averages found in the report.
The city’s lack of transparency despite its “robust environmental strategy” is cited in the one relatively low ranking in the report, which is in the category of environmental governance.
“Not all of the city’s targets have been reported, and while information is accessible and the sustainability campaign is widely known, data are not collected and provided in a unified location. The city has partnered with a private company to monitor energy-use plans to make strides to that end,” the report states.
Reimer said Vancouver has addressed the lack of transparency by hiring a monitoring and reporting planner.
“If the same survey was done today, we’d be much further ahead,” Reimer said. “We are one of the only cities in the world, let alone North America with a very clearly articulated 10-year set of targets. We now have a person in place and a plan in place.”
Last week, The Sun reported that Vancouver slipped to No. 3 on the Economist’s global livability survey due to traffic congestion, after nearly a decade at the top.
This index ranked Vancouver third in transportation, with the longest public transit system among the cities assessed.
“[Vancouver’s] performance is further helped by a high percentage of workers commuting by public transit, bicycle, or foot, at 25 per cent, compared with the average of 13 per cent,” the report states.
The report says Vancouver is one of just six of the assessed cities that is increasing the amount of locally produced and consumed energy.
“Where Vancouver shines, though, is in its sustainable energy strategy, which seeks to provide high-density neighbourhoods with financing for community renewable-energy systems, helping cover high upfront costs, while recouping the benefits through long-term lower operating expenses,” the report states.
Overall, San Francisco scored 83.8, Vancouver 81.3, and New York, which ranks third, scored 79.2. The second highest Canadian city is Toronto, ranking seventh overall with 68.4 points.
San Francisco ranks first in waste, and second in buildings, transportation and air, according to the index. The city’s top marks are a result of “one of the best energy efficient building standards, the second longest public transport network, and low levels of all pollutants measured in the index.”
tsherlock@vancouversun.com