Toronto and Yellowknife take top spots in large and small city categories

(Toronto ON, Feb. 3, 2010) Vancouver, BC gets a gold medal for its leadership in urban sustainability.

The fourth annual Corporate Knights Most Sustainable Cities Ranking recognizes Toronto, ON as first in the Big City category, Vancouver, BC as first in the Medium City category and overall ranking, and Yellowknife, NT as first in the Small City category.

A key factor that helped Toronto surpass last year’s winner, Edmonton, was the city’s strong record on corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are currently 40 per cent below 1990 levels. The city reaps the benefits of its density, with more citizens choosing green commuting options and consuming less residential energy.

Vancouver displaced the two-time Medium City winner Halifax with stricter GHG reduction goals, more bike paths and green space, and better access to local food. New multi-family condominiums must have 20 per cent of parking stalls wired for electric vehicle charging—a new gold standard.

Best Small City for three consecutive years, Yellowknife benefits from high rates of employment and the city’s strong green infrastructure policies. In spite of cold weather, Yellowknife boasts a high “active commuter” rate. Thanks to investment in the city’s extensive trail network, 24 per cent of residents use their own two feet to get to work.

“Canadian cities are incubators for sustainable solutions,” says Hilary Best, Researcher at Corporate Knights Magazine. “With the appropriate social, financial and governance tools to leverage these solutions, urban spaces become powerful launch pads for the sustainability transition.”

Cities were assessed on over 60 indicators spanning five categories of sustainability: Ecological Integrity, Economic Security, Governance and Empowerment, Infrastructure and Built Environment, and Social Well-Being. The supporting research included a survey completed by all ranked cities and publicly available statistics at the city level. Weakest performance was evident in measures of Ecological Integrity where insufficient monitoring prevents cities from recognizing and preventing ecosystem decline.

The full results of the ranking are available online at www.corporateknights.ca/cities and are summarized below, as well as in the Sustainable Cities issue (Vol. 8.3) of Corporate Knights Magazine, distributed in the Globe and Mail today in the east (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec), and tomorrow in the west (Calgary, Vancouver).

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