With World Environment Day coming up on June 5, INSIDER researched the most environmentally friendly cities in the US.
To find the most eco-conscious destinations across the country, we consulted a range of sources, including Siemens' Green City Index for the US and Canada, which measures and rates the environmental performance of 27 cities in North America, and WalletHub's 2017 list of the greenest cities in America, which compares 100 of the largest cities in the US across 22 "green" indicators like median air-quality and number of jobs accessible by public transit.
Keep reading to learn about 25 of the most eco-friendly US cities, from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Chicago, Illinois.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii's capital, topped The Daily Beast's 2014 list of the greenest cities in the US. The site based its findings on government data and research conducted by Experian Marketing Services, a market research firm that has tracked the greening of America for more than 50 years.
According to The Daily Beast — which analyzed several categories of data ranging from "The percentage of people who think and act in an eco-conscious way" to "The number of energy efficient commercial buildings per capita, as recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency"— 66.1% of Honolulu residents are very eco-conscious.
Given that Honolulu boasts numerous beaches, lush vegetation, and incredible volcanic landforms that make it one of the prettiest cities in America, it makes sense that the people who live there are dedicated to preserving natural resources.
Portland, Oregon
Portland earned the top spot on Travel + Leisure's 2015 readers' survey of the greenest cities in America. The magazine asked readers to rank destinations based on eco-friendly offerings like mass-transit options and restaurants that source ingredients locally.
From vegetarian food truck eats to thrift store threads, Portland isn't just hip— it's sustainable, too.
San Francisco, California
With a cumulative score of 74.24, San Francisco came in first on WalletHub's 2017 ranking of America's greenest cities. The personal finance website compared 22 eco-focused data points for the 100 largest cities in the country such as median air-quality index and number of jobs accessible by public transit.
In 2011, Siemens named San Francisco the greenest city in the US and Canada on its Green City Index. From a law that requires residents and businesses keep recycling and compost material separate from normal trash to widescale dedication to solar energy (including 60,000-square-foot solar paneling on the roof of the San Francisco Convention Center), the Golden City demonstrates how metros can do their part to save the planet.
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