London
United Kingdom
London is an all-rounder, scoring well on all three pillars, with a particular strength in Planet. Out of the three pillars, its lowest rank is in Profit, where it still ranks a very healthy 23rd. London has particular strengths around the quality of its transport infrastructure and (to a slightly lesser extent) the sustainability of that transport infrastructure. It has an above average share of new EVs being registered there, but the quality of its EV charging infrastructure is average, suggesting this may be an area for future investment. London's share of renewables within the energy mix is relatively high (but not exceptional), so while the city is undoubtedly ahead of the curve, it still needs to invest in its energy transition. Overall, the UK performs poorly when it comes to energy efficiency and still has high energy consumption per capita.
6
22
23
Profit
People
Planet
Overall rank
6
London
Amsterdam
San Francisco
Sydney
Amsterdam is another all-rounder, scoring particularly well in both Planet and People, and with a decent score on Profit. The quality of its transport infrastructure is an obvious strength, and broadly speaking, the city’s transport infrastructure is quite sustainable. There is, however, room for more investment here. Unsurprisingly Amsterdam’s bicycle infrastructure is a particular strength. Compared to other cities Amsterdam has an average amount of CO2 emissions and energy use per capita is slightly above average. The CO2 emissions performance is partly due to the low share of renewable energy in its mix so this is an area in need of urgent investment, especially relative to many of its central European peers, such as Zurich and Vienna.
Netherlands
Amsterdam
14
10
25
Profit
People
Planet
Overall rank
10
San Francisco is led by its Profit pillar strength, but also has robust scores across all three pillars. In terms of transport, San Francisco has a similar story to many other developed cities – a strong transport network that isn’t particularly unsustainable but requires investment to make it truly sustainable. It does have a relatively strong shared bicycle infrastructure and a larger ride sharing fleet (relative to the population) than any other city in the index. San Francisco is above average in terms of its CO2 emissions and energy usage, but like a lot of US cities, it requires urgent investment in energy transition to bring its share of renewable power much more in line with the city’s sustainability aims.
United States of America
San Francisco
35
38
4
Profit
People
Planet
Overall rank
9
Sydney sits in the top third of the SCI, led by a particularly strong performance on the People pillar, and a well-balanced performance across the other two pillars. Ecommerce and overall connectivity are strengths here but there are some key opportunities for improvement in sustainable transport. Sydney performs better that most US cities but needs significant investment to bring its transport infrastructure on par with most Northern and Western European cities. The greatest opportunity here for Sydney is undoubtedly around its EV infrastructure, where it is among the lowest ranked cities in the world, both in terms or new registrations and charging infrastructure. Energy use and CO2 emissions are both lower than average in Sydney, but its share of renewables is also relatively low: a missed opportunity, especially given the abundant amount of sunlight that shines upon the city.
Australia
Sydney
42
15
46
Profit
People
Planet
Overall rank
33
United Kingdom
Netherlands
United States of America
Australia
City Spotlights
