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Newcastle named 'most sustainable' city
18/10/10
Edited by Bob Witham.Newcastle has once again been named Britain's most sustainable city in a study by Forum for the Future.
The organisation's report ranks the country's 20 largest urban centres on environmental performance, quality of life and "future-proofing" - how well they are prepared for the challenges of the coming decades.
Cities are assessed on 13 categories ranging from air quality, employment and household waste to action to tackle climate change.
Newcastle was ranked first overall for the second year running, ahead of Leicester, Brighton, Bristol and London.
However, on environmental performance, Leicester came on top.
Forum for the Future said that overall, the ecological footprint of Britain's 20 largest cities is shrinking, mainly thanks to greater energy efficiency in transport and green home improvements.
It added that across the conurbations, the average person generates 441 kg of waste annually, below the UK average of 473 kg.
Nevertheless, the environmental performance gap between the top and bottom cities (Leicester and Cardiff) had widened since 2009.
"It's important that cities now accelerate the speed of change to a low-carbon economy and low-impact future that supports the complexity and diversity of our collective and individual needs," the study said.
Forum for the Future was founded in 1996 to promote sustainable development in the public and private sectors.
