The British bank IG Bank has compiled a ranking of the most sustainable Swiss cities. It ranked Zurich as the most sustainable, followed by Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, St.Gallen, Lugano, Geneva and Basel.
For the ranking, the bank used government data sources from the eight biggest cities. It then combined the results with ratings from international agencies, focusing on factors including air quality, the use of public transport, proportion of recreational areas, population density and the proportion of inhabited areas.
IG Bank highlights that Zurich is not only the most sustainable, but also the biggest city in Switzerland – a fact that makes its ranking all the more impressive. Zurich performed well in all categories, but particularly in the use of public transport, with 67.1 per cent of the city’s inhabitants using some form of public transport. This is one of the main reasons for the air quality in the city. Another highlight, according to IG Bank, is that Zurich has its own government department for sustainable construction. It is focused on creating a 2,000-watt society.
The bank believes that current and future investment will be strongly oriented towards sustainability. The goal of its ranking is to “emphasise Switzerland’s engagement with sustainability”. Its data should also serve as an “indicator for future trends and show what other big cities can do to recreate Switzerland’s success”.
