It’s been over a decade since the European Commission (EC) awarded Bristol the status of European Green Capital. Since then, the South West city’s environmentally conscious mindset (and all the hippy stereotypes that come with it) haven’t diminished. In 2021, Bristol was named the most sustainable city in the UK, while this year, the Greens became the biggest party in Bristol City Council.
Now a new study, created by Millets, has ranked Bristol as the most eco-drienfly city in England. By ranking cities in the UK by several factors – including the number of EV chargers, green spaces, local transport, annual emissions and walking trails – to find the greenest cities.
“The green city is surrounded by the charming countryside of Somerset, Gloucestershire, and the Cotswolds,” says the study. “Within a 1,000-metre radius, the city has over 4.5 parks and gardens. Crowned England’s first Cycling City, Bristol supports sustainable travel, offering many bike hire shops and scenic cycling paths, such as the popular Bristol to Bath Railway Path.”
In England, it wasn’t even close but fell short against cities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales (we’ll get to that). Out of ten, Bristol scored an eco-friendly rating of 9.27. That’s a decent score when the runners-up – Liverpool (9.09), Oxford (9.05) and Southampton (9.03) – finished in a tight pack. Where does Bristol excel?
Well, it has an average of 4.5 parks per 1000-metre radius, the second highest after Liverpool; and 13.6 walking trails per 10km² – its 150 walking trails are also the second highest in England, behind Sheffield’s 186. Bristol’s greenest element was its ultra-low annual emissions (6.9 per km²). Brighton’s, with the second lowest emissions in England, was 9.5, while Liverpool’s was 13.8.
There’s still room for improvement, however. Out of the top 10 cities in England, Bristol has the lowest number of Electric Vehicle chargers – an average of 12.5 per 10km². That’s compared to Coventry where you’ll find 135.7 EV chargers per 10km². It’s also worth noting there are five UK cities considered greener than Bristol – Edinburgh (9.94), Belfast (9.93) Dundee (9.87), Glasgow (9.61) and Cardiff (9.56).
That’s right. Cardiff is a more eco-friendly city than Bristol. Where the greenest city in Wales has us beat, however, isn’t that clear… Bristol beats it in every category (Cardiff’s annual emissions are 12.0 per km2) but still gets a worse overall score. What the study does say is: “With a target to become carbon neutral by 2030, the city aims to shift to more active modes of transport while making smarter choices to waste less and recycle more.”
The most eco-friendly destinations in England:
- Bristol (9.27)
- Liverpool (9.09)
- Oxford (9.05)
- Southampton (9.03)
- Cambridge (8.36)
- Ipswich (7.90)
- Norwich (7.85)
- Coventry (7.77)
- Nottingham (7.76)
- Brighton and Hove (7.71)
To read the study in full head here.