Durban, South Africa – San Francisco beat the cities of the world to take top honors at a World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) “Government Leadership Awards” ceremony at COP17-CMP7 in Durban today. San Francisco took the top spot — the overall “Best Green Building Policy” award — effectively making it the world’s most sustainable city in terms of its building policy.
The second of six awards presented, the “Industry Transformation” award, went to New York City.
Third place, the “Regional Leadership Award,” went to Singapore.
Fourth, the “Urban Retrofit Award,” went to Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
Fifth spot, for “Climate Action Leadership,” went to Mexico City.
And sixth place, the “Most Groundbreaking Award,” went to Tokyo, Japan.
The WorldGBC — a coalition of 89 national Green Building Councils recognized as the largest international organization influencing the green building marketplace — established the leadership awards to recognize global cities for innovation and excellence.
The inaugural awards were presented at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol (CMP7), which started in the South African coastal city of Durban on November 28 and ends on December 9.
More than 80 Green Building Councils from around the world were invited to nominate government policies for the 2011 inaugural WorldGBC awards. Twenty-two nominations were received by the council.
“The future is urban,” WorldGBC CEO Jane Henley said before presenting the awards. Cities could do a lot to help protect the environment by having policies that would minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Criteria that won San Francisco its top award included:
- Effectiveness of initiative in transforming the industry;
- Cost-effectiveness of initiative;
- Scale of emissions reduction;
- Demonstration of environmental leadership and Innovation;
- Replicability and relevance to other locations.
San Francisco’s green building policy includes requirements around meeting California green building standard codes; stormwater management; energy standards and recycling.
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