Over the past several years, the San FranciscoDepartment of the Environment has received many accolades, from being namedClimate Action Champions by the White House to receiving an award for bestgreen building policies of any city in the world. The department's office spacerecently achieved LEED Platinum Certification by the US Green Building Council.

San Francisco is a pioneer among environmentally-conscious American cities. They have a broad range of policies and practices that make environmental accountability a large part of the city’s foundation.

SustainableFood

City agencies maximize fair trade and organic food purchases from local farms that grow and harvest food sustainably. Restaurants maintain this “farm to table” movement and often have menus that vary by the season. More and more grocery stores and restaurants are cognizant of the distinction between ecological farming and monoculture farming, which degrades biodiversity, and opt for the sustainable options.

WasteReduction

For most residents of large US cities, it seems too far-fetched to even consider the possibility of living waste-free. Yet San Francisco plans to do just that by the year 2020. Until then, the Bay Area city is already 78 percent of the way there and continues to make significant strides in reducing impact on our overflowing landfills. In 2007, San Francisco was the first US city to ban plastic bags, and some grocery stores offer compostable bags as an alternative. Stores, restaurants, campuses, and residential streets in San Francisco all have containers for waste subdivision. Billboards in BART stations encourage composting. While small in scale, it is clear these measures inculcate a much larger culture of accountability towards our ecological footprint. Since 2009, San Francisco has had the first large-scale urban food waste and composting program in the country. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 12% from 1990 levels. And to continue the food cycle, local farmers use the city’s nutrient-rich compost to produce food.

Transportation

If you walk down any street in San Francisco long enough, you will notice buses that have the words “hybrid-electric” and “zero emissions” painted on their side over an image of a hummingbird or an equally-adorable creature. More than half of MUNI buses and light rails are zero emission, and the remainder will transition to hybrid diesel by 2020. After the city’s Healthy Air and Smog Prevention ordinance in 1999, more than 700 “cleaner air vehicles,” which are compressed natural gas, hybrid, and electric, have been introduced to San Francisco’s public transportation wheelhouse. There are a large number of LEED-certified companies, many buildings are eco-friendly, and some employers even offer incentives to employees who use BART as a means of transportation.

Water Conservation

California is in the grips of a very serious drought, but San Francisco has been undertaking water conversation efforts for decades. Amidst this battle to conserve water, San Francisco stands out as the area that has reduced its water consumption the most dramatically. San Francisco residents use 49 gallons of water a day on average, compared to 100 gallons a day statewide. Despite the fact that residential water usage accounts for only a marginal portion of California’s water consumption (agriculture is the largest portion), it is a testament to the city residents’ dedication to environmental sustainability. In fact, San Franciscans use the least amount of water in the state of California. The lack of landscaped property likely has to do with this, as does the fact that the city offers free water-saving devices for residents and businesses, such as high-efficiency shower heads.

The ACEEE (American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy) named San Francisco 2nd on the City Clean Energy Scorecard. This report ranks 75 large U.S. cities on what they are doing to save energy in five key areas. For more information visit aceee.org.

Here is how San Francisco ranked in each area: