Sydney is the 34th in the one hundred sustainable cities in Arcadis' 2018 Sustainability Index and the first in Australia.
The cities of Canberra (35th), Brisbane (44th), and Melbourne (56th) made it in the list as well.
According to Arcadis, they based this year’s rankings on the country’s efforts to strengthen the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. These three align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They assessed a city’s sustainability from the perspective of the citizen too. They gathered data and analysed how a city meets the needs of its citizens.
Based on their report, all Australian cities have:
- Great health, education, digital enablement, and people-focused measures (People Pillar)
- Dropping unemployment rate and ease of doing business (Profit Pillar) But, all four Australian cities need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their waste management systems. (Planet Pillar)
According to Stephen Taylor, Arcadis’ Australian Cities Director, the country needs to continue focusing on improving every city’s global performance, resilience, and long-term sustainability. He cited the cities of Sydney and Melbourne as an example, saying the two cities went beyond green sustainability to social sustainability.
He pointed out that both government and private developments play a huge part in improving Australian communities.
“Despite the middle of the road rankings, the nation's strong focus on developing integrated transit systems, addressing affordability and embracing sustainability in construction are all positive signs for future improvement across the three pillars,” he said.
European and Asian cities lead in this year’s Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index. Please see infographic below for the complete list.
For more information, download their report.
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