Summary
- California is home to several of the greenest cities in the world, leading in sustainable initiatives such as renewable energy and water conservation.
- Cities like Greater Palm Springs, Oakland, and Fremont have implemented eco-friendly practices, from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicle infrastructure and sustainable waste management.
- Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Palo Alto, Irvine, Long Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco are also prioritizing environmental sustainability through initiatives like recycling, renewable energy, and eco-friendly businesses.
California has a plethora of natural resources and natural beauty that drive its strong economy. Over the years, climate change has motivated policy-makers to adopt new initiatives that promote a more sustainable lifestyle. Today, several of the greenest cities in the world are in California. The Golden State has always been ahead in terms of driving sustainable initiatives such as renewable energy, Greenhouse gas reduction, water conservation, and other environment-friendly objectives.
Attracting some of the highest numbers of tourists in the U.S., California even has an array of eco-friendly hotels to choose from to make every traveler's stay comfortable and eco-friendly. From eco-tourism to industrial sustainability, here are the cities and towns in California that are doing their part towards a greener earth.
10 Greater Palm Springs
The San Gregoria Pass wind turbines produce 100 percent carbon-free power for the entire region in and around Greater Palm Springs. The city's convention center is also powered by more than 2,500 solar panels, uses only recycled paper in its restrooms, and captures most of the food waste thereby reducing the centers’ landfill waste by 400 tons annually.
Many hotels and resorts in the area have already gone green and many others are fast adopting eco-friendly initiatives. This effort has resulted in an environment-friendly ecosystem that promotes a healthier life for residents and visitors in Greater Palm Springs.
Greater Palm Springs' Green Highlight
- The Palm Springs Certified Farmers Market is held every Saturday and the Palm Desert Certified Farmers Market on every Sunday, selling everything from organic fruits and vegetables to handmade soaps and candles.
9 Oakland
To help support its clean energy and climate goals, the city of Oakland allows its residents to purchase solar power and zero-emission vehicles at discounted prices.
After implementing climate initiatives, Oakland had 4,000 rooftop solar panels on homes and buildings across the city by 2017, making sustainable energy a high priority for all citizens.
Additionally, all new residential and commercial developments are now required to include infrastructure that makes it easy to install electric vehicle charges, in turn eliminating the greatest challenge for EV adoption.
Residents and visitors have access to more than a dozen parks such as Redwood Regional Park, Allendale Park, and others to enjoy the fresh unadulterated breathing air.
Oakland's Green Highlight
- The Oakland Community Gardening Program brings 16 locations together with people across age groups and backgrounds to grow organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers.
8 Fremont
Fremont issues Instant Solar Permits for permitting new residential rooftop solar and storage systems; promoting clean, renewable energy for Fremont. Schools have started eliminating single-use plastic in the cafeterias. Reusable tableware is not only healthier but promotes an eco-friendly and more sustainable lifestyle for the children.
For a comparatively small town, Fremont has numerous facilities with LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) materials, solar-powered train stations, and EV charging stations in its claim to be called a green city and provide a more sustainable lifestyle for its residents and visitors.
Over fifty tech companies have also set up a base in Fremont due to its quick permitting processes for green buildings, and this in turn has improved the employment rate of the city.
Fremont's Green Highlight
- Fremont’s ZIP code has more electric vehicle (EV) registered drivers than any other ZIP code in California
7 Sacramento
With a first-of-its-kind initiative in the U.S., Sacramento is turning leftover food into renewable natural gas for its city fleets. Two to three tons of food waste now gets transformed into the equivalent of 50 gallons of diesel making it one the greenest and most eco-friendly city fleets in America.
It’s not just a sustainable and greener initiative, it’s also a cheaper one. The city estimates saving $1 million a year by not having to use diesel in its fleets of city trucks and street sweepers.
Sacramento has always been a great place to visit and because of the eco-friendly initiatives, residents and visitors can enjoy spending quality time in over 200 parks (4,200 acres) maintained by the city in its effort to reduce climate impacts like extreme heat and reducing carbon dioxide in the environment.
Sacramento's Green Highlight
- Sacramento County uses sheep for weed control at the County’s Kiefer Landfill where these animals can munch 250 acres more cheaply and efficiently than any machine. Its Gas-to-energy plant powers more than 10,000 homes.
6 Santa Barbara
The beautiful beach town of Santa Barbara is doing its bit to go green. A free-of-cost mattress recycling program has resulted in 8.5 million mattresses being recycled since 2016, which roughly equates to 10.5 million cubic yards of landfill space saved.
Being a popular tourist destination, eco-friendly tourism in Santa Barbara has had various initiatives like eco-friendly hotels for the environmentally aware and bike-share programs for those who prefer not using a car, for which citizens and businesses have joined hands with the city administration to offer green and more sustainable eco-tourism.
Santa Barbara's Green Highlight
- The recycled materials in the mattresses–including steel, foam, fiber, and wood—are used to make new products, such as appliances, industrial filters, carpet padding, and mulch. This in turn reduces the carbon impact of producing new raw materials.
5 Palo Alto
With a strong focus on sustainability, Palo Alto encourages its citizens to switch to electric heating for home and water, away from carbon-based fuels. This encouragement comes with full service and a monetary rebate to incentivize residents.
Other community-based green initiatives have become quite successful such as one that set aside 10 acres of city dump land that was meant to be a park, and instead turned it into a composting facility.
Small compost bins have been given to nearly all households for food scrap collection. All these initiatives have combined to reduce the carbon impact and greenhouse gas emissions in the city, taking Palo Alto high in the list of eco-friendly green towns in California.
Palo Alto's Green Highlight
- The city offers a full-service solution to install heat pump water heaters in residential homes that include a $2,300 rebate.
4 Irvine
Sixty years ago, Irvine's master plan was for a livable city full of parks and open spaces connected by bike paths and trails. Today, with over 270 parks and more than 360 miles of hiking and biking trails, Irvine is recognized as one of America’s greenest and most eco-friendly cities.
The city of Irvine also has one the largest fleet of battery-powered office buildings and the highest number of LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings in California.
In using the “Green Business Program”, businesses are incentivized to become green in areas such as water consumption, pollution prevention, and more.
Irvine's Green Highlight
- Participating in the Green Business Program, not only gets public recognition by the city of Irvine but also $500 in state grant funding. Visitors can shop at these local businesses to support sustainable initiatives.
3 Long Beach
Regarded as one of the cleanest cities in California, Long Beach draws many visitors every year. Some environment-friendly takeaways are that it also has a very high EV adoption rate, making low pollution a major feather in the cap for the city administration.
Supermarkets, nurseries, restaurants, and fashion stores drive eco-friendly products for consumers who want to go green.
Long Beach's Green Highlight
- The Aquarium of the Pacific at Long Beach has produced more than 80% of its energy on-site, thanks to a fuel system installed in 2019. It also saves more than 960,000 gallons of water annually.
2 San Diego
San Diego is powered by about 40 percent renewable energy. The San Diego International Airport has the world’s first LEED platinum-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) airport terminal.
Dozens of farmers’ markets are held each week to support the 5,000 farms spread across the county. The City offers multiple eco-friendly outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding, and more.
Businesses are incentivized to go green with the “San Diego Green Business Network” for controlling water, energy, and waste impacts. The Organic Waste Recycling program allows each citizen to recycle their food waste, soiled paper, and yard trimmings.
Along with this emphasis on green initiatives, tourists visiting San Diego have easy access to electric transport and eco-friendly hotels.
San Diego's Green Highlight
- There are more solar installations in the city than in any other city in California.
1 San Francisco
As early as 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic grocery bags. The public transport system, MUNI operates its trolley buses, street cars, and cable car vehicles with zero-emission and 100 percent greenhouse gas-free electricity via overhead wires.
With already a strong focus on tourism and attractions that bring thousands of visitors from all over the world, the city also strongly promotes consumer-facing businesses like hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores to not only operate with but also offer eco-friendly choices.
San Francisco has one of the largest networks of vegan restaurants, grocery stores, and environment-friendly hotels, making it one of the greenest cities in America. For eco-friendly tourism, San Francisco stands right on top of any list.
San Francisco's Green Highlight
- The first American city to prohibit the use of plastic bags in 2007, the city also has strong restrictions on the sale of plastic water bottles. With these simple but incredibly effective and environmentally friendly actions, the city has reduced annual waste to landfills by over 1.6 million tons. For a comparative reference, the Golden Gate Bridge weighs only 900,000 tons.
Looking for a SF-area day trip? Check out Emeryville, another of the state's most eco-friendly cities.