Wellington named green trail-blazer

Wellington is the only New Zealand city to be recognised for its sustainable green initiatives in a prestigious international survey.

Business ethics and anti-corruption promoters Ethisphere Institute has selected Wellington as one of 10 mid-sized cities that are leading the way in sustainability.

The institute balanced several factors before selecting its top cities, including the state of the local economy and the level of international acclaim of each city.

It also considered whether cities had "a plan in place to shift their bulky, mega-hub selves" on to an environmentally sustainable path so that by 2020 they would be sustainability role models.

The results were published in the institute's magazine, which said more than 60 per cent of new residential growth in Wellington was in the central city. This has led to an urgent need for a sustainable development plan.

"The city has already established several effective initiatives to handle growth in a sustainable manner, such as its Southern Landfill which generates electricity through gas produced from waste in the landfill. It also has a well-established public transport system, used by a good chunk of its residents."

Mayor Kerry Prendergast said it was fantastic that Wellington was being recognised as having "leading edge policies and practices".

The leading sustainability cities with population below 600,000: Copenhagen, Denmark; Doha, Qatar; Edinburgh, Scotland; Helsinki, Finland; Oslo, Norway; Portland, US; Reykjavik, Iceland; Victoria, Canada; Wellington, NZ; Rotterdam, Netherlands.