Amsterdam (ots/PRNewswire) – Arcadis has issued a call to cities around the world as the release of the Sustainable Cities Index 2024 highlights the need for accelerated action to address climate change and other sustainability challenges.
- Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index 2024 highlights wide disparities in sustainability progress as cities race to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Amsterdam takes first place as the most sustainable city, thanks to strong economic performance, social justice, and investments in renewable energy.
- Staying on course is crucial as the deadline for achieving the SDGs approaches and even the highest-ranking cities have the opportunity to accelerate their sustainability goals
The report’s publication comes almost 2,000 days before the deadline to achieve the United Nations SDGs by 2030. It shows clear differences between leading cities such as Amsterdam (1st), Copenhagen (3rd) and Munich (5th) and the bottom performers – in particular US and Asian cities such as New York (48th), Boston (56th) and Taipei (62nd).
The Sustainable Cities Index by Arcadis evaluates 100 cities based on the three pillars of sustainability – planet, people and profit. The report’s 6th edition since its launch in 2015 includes 67 metrics that reflect our evolving understanding of sustainability, including air pollution, waste management and investment in low-carbon infrastructure (including renewable energy and sustainable transport), as well as economic performance, social equity and resilience Natural disasters.
This year, Arcadis also added a fourth pillar, “Progress,” to measure changes over time. This shows the impact of sustainability measures over the last ten years and, when viewed together with the other pillars, provides information about the future development of a city.
Overall, European cities are at the top of the index. All four German cities included in the report – Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin – occupy places in the top 10, reflecting successes in water and waste management as well as low greenhouse gas emissions.
A high performance in the “Planet” pillar goes hand in hand with overall success: eight of the ten best cities in the “Planet” category are also among the ten best cities overall. The Planet pillar includes metrics such as sustainable energy systems and low-emission transport, suggesting that these are powerful tools for urban sustainability.
This year’s index also makes it clear that high profit performance does not necessarily come at the expense of environmental sustainability. The report emphasizes that a thriving economy should support investments in infrastructure, alternative energy sources, green initiatives and social programs. Amsterdam, the most sustainable city of 2024, also ranks at the top in the Profit pillar and scores excellently in the areas of income and living standards, employment and transport infrastructure.
North American cities dominate the profit pillar. San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, New York and Seattle all appear in the top 10 for profit, thanks to ease of doing business, GDP per capita and employment rates. Although these cities are economically successful, wage levels and living standards do not keep pace. To move forward, socially inclusive development strategies are critical, and North American and European cities must inspire each other to make further progress.
In terms of progress over the last decade, many European cities – despite their sustainable starting points – have made great strides and consolidated their position at the top of the index. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin are all in the top third of the progress column and in the top third of the overall index. This is thanks to the commitment to renewable energy production as well as socio-economic factors such as female labor force participation and healthcare.
The dominance of Asian cities such as Jakarta, Wuhan and Shanghai at the top of the progress pillar shows that in cities with limited sustainable infrastructure or practice, early steps can generate tremendous momentum, even if they do not rank high in the overall rankings.
John Batten, Arcadis Global Cities Director, said:
“Cities play a critical role in advancing the sustainable development agenda. However, our progress assessment shows that more needs to be done to meet the SDG deadline. With 2,000 days remaining, the challenge is to continue to innovate. Whether by expanding renewable energy initiatives, incorporating climate considerations into infrastructure planning, improving mobility through intelligent traffic management or supporting the retrofit of existing buildings – there are always areas where improvements can be made towards 2030 “Cities must build on their successes, identify areas for progress and encourage collaboration to address challenges.”
Download the full report down here.
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Questions & Contact:
Kerri Moore / kerri.moore@arcadis.com / +44 (0) 7821 836 90