How new study scores Yorkshire for sustainability

Leeds has been ranked as 34th out of 100 of the world’s leading cities in the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2022 (SCI) list, in a cluster with Manchester and Birmingham.

It ranks highest of the three cities when it comes to its ‘planet’ score but the results show there are plenty of areas where it needs new investment.

The SCI table examines cities across three pillars of sustainability: planet, people and profit. Though all three factors are weighted equally, the data shows that putting the planet and people first is a more reliable road to lasting prosperity than a profit-first focus, however ensuring the necessary profit focus is there to finance progress remains important.

Transport & infrastructure

Like elsewhere in the UK, the sustainability of Leeds’s transport infrastructure requires investment, lacking Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure, with limited bicycle-friendly infrastructure and scoring in the middle of the

rankings for overall transport sustainability (below London).

From a commercial perspective, Leeds is actually the highest ranking English city for its commercial transport infrastructure – measured in terms of

ecommerce use, ride hailing and congestion. Though that is partly because other UK cities are more congested, meaning that road infrastructure is still an area in need of investment.

Leeds isn’t as well connected as London, Manchester or even the major Scottish cities and its overall connectivity is on a par with Riga and Bogota internationally.

Energy & environment

Leeds has the lowest score among English cities for its greenhouse gas emissions per person, suggesting that investment would be valuable. It also scores lowest among all UK cities for access to green spaces and air quality.

Though, in international terms, all UK cities are performing well, with Leeds ranking on a par with Oslo and Zurich, despite having far less in the way of green space than either.

Arcadis Northern Cities Director Richard Bonner said: “The overall data suggests that our Northern cities are held back by their performance from the profit pillar, indicating that prosperity for people is being constrained.

“That certainly appears to resonate with the drivers for levelling up, and recent National Audit Office data indicates that the economic performance of cities across the North has been constrained in the period after the pandemic.”

Way forward for Yorkshire

Arcadis is working on several key schemes to help Leeds prepare for the future including:

Updating the grid network in the North East to facilitate investment in hydrogen and decarbonise industry. The plans support carbon capture and storage at North Yorkshire’s Drax power station, to permanently remove 8 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.Supporting the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), a major investment in 76 miles of railway between York and Manchester, via Leeds and Huddersfield, to help the shift from cars to rail.Working with the University of Leeds to work towards its carbon zero targets for 2030.

Find out more

To find out more about the sustainability performances of 100 of the world’s cities download the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2022 here.