After conducting extensive research, British Business Energy has published the findings of its recent study ranking the top ten environmentally friendly cities to work in.
Research conducted by British Business Energy looks at cities across the globe, analysing statistics including the percentage of people walking or cycling to work, the level of tree coverage across the city and the percentage of technology patents which were environment-related across each country to determine the best cities to work in for those conscious of their eco-footprint. The table below outlines the top five environmentally friendly cities to work in:
| Rank | Location | Tree canopy | Walking & cycling commuters | Number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants | % of tech patents that were environment related | Renewable energy % |
| 1 | London, UK | 12.7% | 29%
|
3,709 | 10.72% | 33% |
| 2 | Frankfurt, Germany | 21.5% | 33% | 294 | 11.25% | 46.2% |
| 3 | Cambridge, USA | 25.3% | 67% | 394 | 9.43% | 14.7% |
| 4 | Oslo, Norway | 28.8% | 19% | 224 | 8.26% | 97.2% |
| 5 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 20.6% | 58% | 813 | 8.71% | 12.1% |
London ranks first place, largely due to the number of restaurants catering for vegans and vegetarians, as well as a high percentage of tech patents that are environment related (10.72%).
Norway is leading the way when it comes to renewable energy, with 97.2% of all energy produced in the area being renewable. On the other end of the scale, the South African cities Cape Town and Johannesburg have an average of 2% of their workforce walking and cycling to work, as well as only 3.2% of their overall energy being renewable.
Environmentally friendly commuters
One of the ways for individuals to reduce their carbon footprint is to walk or cycle to work. Although it is not possible for everyone, walking or cycling can significantly minimise the emissions of city dwellers.
Cambridge, USA, has the highest percentage (67%) of commuters that choose to walk or cycle to the office. Although Amsterdam, Netherlands, is known for its cycling culture, only 58% of the city’s commuters are cyclists or walkers.
Frankfurt, Germany, took third place, with 33% walking or cycling to work. Unfortunately, Cape Town and Johannesburg fall into the bottom three in this category, accompanied by Tampa, USA, where only 2% of the workforce cycle or walk to walk.
Eco-conscious diets
Many people have adopted a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle to reduce their impact on environment. Research conducted at the University of Oxford indicates that by cutting meat and dairy products from their diet, individuals could reduce the carbon footprint of their food by up to 73%. Researchers from British Business Energy ranked the top five vegan and vegetarian friendly cities based on the number of restaurants dedicated to serving animal-free foods:
- London, UK (3,709)
- New York, USA (1,542)
- Paris, France (1,429)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (813)
- Sydney, Australia (670)
Ian Wright, founder of British Business Energy, commented: “Now more than ever it’s important to be conscious of our carbon footprints, and with many people on the same wavelength, it’s great to see London pioneering this movement for everyday workers. It sets a bar for countries worldwide and what we can be doing more of to keep our planet clean.”
