Despite good social and economic performance, Australian cities are lagging behind their global counterparts on emissions reduction and waste management according to Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index 2018.
The 2018 Index explores city sustainability from the perspective of a citizen, considering how different cities enable different citizen groups to meet their particular needs (such as the maintenance and performance of essential services, the allocation of resources). Measured on three pillars of sustainability: People, Planet and Profit, Australian cities were ranked in the second quartile: Sydney 34th, Canberra 35th, Brisbane 44th, Melbourne 56th.
Australian cities performed well in the People pillar and satisfactorily in the Profit pillar yet the Planet pillar was the weakest for all Australian cities. Greenhouse gas emissions and waste management were common issues across all four cities and compared to leading European cities, Australian cities were very weak on electric-vehicle adaption, had high exposure to natural disasters and waste management.
Overall, Australian cities were all middle of the road in the sustainability index.
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