As Competition Grows, Los Angeles Still Ranks No. 1 for Energy-Efficient Buildings

Los Angeles. Photo credit: kla4067 via Flickr Creative Commons

For the second straight year, EPA released its rankings of cities with the most Energy Star-rated buildings, and once again, Los Angeles topped the list. In a blog post last year, we offered a few reasons why LA and San Francisco led the pack.

This year, the most interesting story seems to be what's happening below Los Angeles on the list, as more cities catch up to last year's leaders and commit to constructing energy-efficient buildings or retrofitting existing buildings. Washington D.C. moved into second place on the list, Denver jumped up to No. 4, and New York broke the top 10 for the first time.

Overall, EPA reports that in 2009, nearly 3,900 commercial buildings earned the Energy Star rating, an increase of 40 percent over 2008 totals. The energy-efficiency of 3,900 buildings accounts for annual savings of more than $900 million in utility bills and more than 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Since 1999, nearly 9,000 buildings have earned the Energy Star rating.

Our congratulations go out to the many ICLEI member local governments represented on this list, all of whom are national leaders on climate, energy, and sustainability action.

Take a look at the list below to compare the city rankings for 2009 (released March 23, 2010) and 2008. You'll see which cities are greening their buildings the fastest. (ICLEI members are bolded.) See EPA's full list for more details on the number of buildings, floor space, and cost savings.