London second on global sustainability index

London has been named second only to Frankfurt in a new study to find the most sustainable cities in the world, according to the newly released Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index.

The index, which assesses environmental, social and economic (ESG) factors, examined 50 cities from 31 countries and ranked each one against the three pillars of sustainability – people, planet and profit.

London ranked particularly well on profit and people, coming second and third in these sub-categories respectively.

The UK’s capital was ranked in 12th place when assessing its environmental impact.

The index highlights congestion, aging infrastructure, a chronic shortage of housing and declining air quality as the current issues facing London.

Manchester and Birmingham were other UK cities to feature on the index, coming 14th and 19th respectively.

Well-established European cities come top of the overall rankings, making up seven of the top ten places.

Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Rotterdam make up the rest of the top five, with Berlin, Seoul, Hong Kong, Madrid and Singapore following.

John Batten, global cities director at Arcadis, said:, “Our world is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Developing technology, population growth and the emergence of a truly global economy mean that the notion of national borders is becoming less relevant. Instead, we see the concept of the ‘global city’ taking hold. The Sustainable Cities Index highlights the areas of opportunity for cities, to inform decision making and hopefully make them more sustainable economically, environmentally and for the welfare of their inhabitants.”

The index found that globally, cities are achieving better sustainability results in the profit and planet categories than they are for people factors.

Another finding of the index is that many of the world’s economic hubs, including London, New York, Paris and Tokyo, are becoming less affordable for their citizens, particularly in terms of property prices.

Batten added: “City leaders need to find ways to balance the demands of generating strong financial returns, being an attractive place for people to live and work in, whilst also limiting their damage to the environment. To truly understand how sustainable a city is, we must understand how it ranks in people, planet and profit. Only then can city leaders act to assess their priorities, and the pathway to urban sustainability – for the good of all.”