| Ottawa rated Canada’s most sustainable large city | | | Ottawa (February 12, 2008) - Ottawa tops the list as the most sustainable large Canadian city, according to the second-annual Corporate Knights Sustainable Cities Ranking list, unveiled by Corporate Knights Magazine yesterday. The comprehensive ranking identifies Canadian cities whose practices leave the smallest environmental footprint possible and create a healthy, thriving population."In a global movement as vital as the sustainability of our planet, I am proud that Ottawa has been acknowledged for embracing the need for change,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “Like many Canadians, I have grappled with how to best balance economic growth with sustainable development. Corporate Knights has voted Ottawa as the most sustainable large city because its citizens and I recognize that sustainable business is good business and Ottawa is all about good business.” Corporate Knights, an independent Canadian-based media company focused on promoting and reinforcing sustainable development in Canada, examined 18 cities, including Canada’s top ten cities by population and the largest city in each province and territory. This year’s ranking added more indicators that are under municipal jurisdiction, and grouped the cities into three categories based on population to ensure proper comparison. Cities were assessed based on five broad categories: Ecological Integrity, Green Mobility, Economic Security, Empowerment, and Social Well-Being. Publicly available information, including Statistics Canada data, as well as city surveys was used to determine city scores. The corporation of the City of Ottawa topped the large city category with a score of 7.70 out of ten. Ottawa has the highest score in the Empowerment category, due mostly to the highest municipal voter turnout in the last election of any city, and in the Green Mobility category. Ottawa boasts the lowest violent crime rate of all cities and its citizens are healthy, with only one in five people being obese. Exceeding its greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2007, by achieving a 24 per cent reduction in 2004, also bolstered Ottawa’s score. “There is always value in gauging our performance against other municipalities,” said City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick. “In this survey, we see how our combined efforts to protect the environment, reduce crime, encourage a healthy population, facilitate greener commuting alternatives, and reduce waste come together to help guarantee a sustainable future.”The full results of the ranking are available on www.corporateknights.ca.
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