Vancouver has cleanly beat Toronto as the “greenest’’ city in Canada and the second overall in North America, coming in just behind San Francisco in a new study of 27 major North American metropolises.

Toronto ranks ninth in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, ahead of Ottawa (12th on the list), Calgary (14th) and Montreal (19th).

Toronto’s efforts in waste management and recycling were lauded in the study but the city also scored the dubious distinction of having the longest average commute — 40 minutes — of any of the 27 cities.

“Due to heavy congestion and sprawl, residents need on average 40 minutes to drive to work, compared with the index average of 29 minutes,’’ notes the report, commissioned by the electronics and electrical engineering company Siemens, and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which does economic and business research and analysis.

The 11-month study, completed in June, assessed environmental performance using criteria that included emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and more.

The 27 cities in the index are rated for their overall environmental performance and then rated separately in categories.

Despite an average per-capita gross domestic product $7,000 lower than the average of U.S. cities in the study, Canadian cities rank nine to 10 places higher than expected, the report states.

Toronto’s best category performance is in waste management, where it ranks fourth, behind Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, but ahead of Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal. This result is driven by a 44 per cent recycling rate that is solidly above the average of 26 per cent, according to the index.

Torontonians can be very “proud’’ of their waste and recycling efforts, said Roland Aurich, president and CEO of Siemens Canada. But the city must pay attention to transportation and traffic congestion issues.

In the water category, Toronto placed 10th, with first place going to Calgary. In terms of both water consumption and distribution leakage, the report notes that Toronto is better than average with a consumption rate of 431 litres of water per person per day.

When it comes to air, Toronto ranks ninth of the 27 cities. The study notes that Toronto’s air pollution levels are all better than average.

Toronto has among the lowest CO2 emissions levels. Its per-capita emissions, at an estimated 7.6 metric tons, are well below the average of 14.5 metric tons, according to the report.

In environmental governance, Toronto ranked 24th. The report notes the city does have a number of environmental plans but their reporting and transparency fall below the standards of most other cities in the index.

“The performance of Canadian cities is extremely good when compared to their U.S. counterparts, especially when relative GDP/person is taken into consideration,’’ Aurich said in a news release.

Siemens previously commissioned Economist Intelligence Unit to do a European Green City Index (2009), with Copenhagen rated the “greenest’’ major city in Europe, an Asian Green City Index (2011), with Singapore rated the “greenest” Asian city and a Latin America Green City Index (2010), with Curitiba, Brazil, scoring highest.

Top 10 U.S. and Canada green cities, with scores

1. San Francisco, 83.8

2. Vancouver, 81.3

3. New York City, 79.2

4. Seattle, 79.1

5. Denver, 73.5

6. Boston, 72.6

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7. Los Angeles, 72.5

8. Washington, D.C., 71.4

9. Toronto, 68.4

10. Minneapolis, 67.7

Toronto rated by category

CO2, Seventh, 81.6: Toronto has among the lowest CO2 emission levels in the index of cities and has shown “international leadership on the issue, with its former mayor, David Miller, serving as the chair of the C40 Climate Leadership Group between 2008 and 2010,’’ the U.S. and Canada Green City Index report notes.

Energy, Fifth, 77.8: This is Toronto’s second strongest category performance, with a per-capita consumption better than average at 40 gigajoules per person, compared with the average of 52. The study points out that Toronto is one of only three cities “to receive the highest scores for promoting green energy adoption, developing green energy projects and local energy production.’’

Land use, 17th, 54.3: Toronto has slightly more green space at 13 per cent than the average of 12 per cent. The city’s efforts to contain “urban sprawl are not as developed as in other index cities but most of the growth is in the suburbs, outside the city’s jurisdiction.’’ The report lauds initiatives like the municipal Trees Across Toronto program that has planted 300,000 trees in recent years.

Buildings, 13th, 53.4: Toronto is on track to improve its score, the report states, with its energy efficiency education and incentives to retrofit, as well as the law requiring green roofs for new buildings with a minimum of 2,000 square metres of floor space and other initiatives. However, Toronto’s score is weighed down by having a low proportion of buildings certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). It has only 1.8 buildings per 100,000 people LEED-certified compared to the average of 6.4

Transport, 22nd, 47.1: Bad news. Hogtown is also slowtown with Toronto scoring the longest commute time of all 27 cities in the index with an average 40-minute drive to work, compared to the index average 29 minutes. The city has the fourth highest share of non-automobile commuters in the index. It’s also one of only four cities without large, central pedestrian-only zones.

Water, 10th, 83.5: Toronto is better than average with its water consumption. It consumes 431 litres of water per day per person — the fifth lowest in the index — compared to the average of 587 litres. The report says the city is well-positioned to reduce water consumption with incentives to residents and businesses now in place.

Waste, 4th, 78.6: This is Toronto’s best performance category, driven by a 44 per cent recycling rate that is well above the average of 26 per cent, supported by the city’s waste-reduction policies. In addition Toronto collects, burns and generates electricity from its three largest landfill sites, none of which are still operational for dumping.

Air, 9th, 79.2: Toronto’s air pollution levels are better than average, the report notes, led by the city’s 16 kilograms of nitrogen oxide emissions, the second best rate in the index and below the average of 30 kilograms. The city has also implemented initiatives like laws against vehicle idling and introduced 25 regenerative-air sweepers that have contributed to a reduction in airborne fine particulate matter.

Environmental governance, 24th, 60: Here, again, Toronto can do better, the report says. The city has various environmental plans, like the climate-change adaption strategy and the sustainable energy strategy, which were developed with public participation. But the transparency of these plans, and the reporting “fall below the standards of most other cities in the index,’’ states the report.

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