Click here to read the ACEEE Executive Summary and here to read how Chicago ranks.
The scorecard was compiled by assessing five different areas of city policy and other actions to improve energy efficiency and ranking them on their own individual metrics. The individual scores are combined to produce a cumulative total and overall ranking. The maximum amount of points a city could receive is 100, however each of the five categories is not weighted equally. The five categories are local government operations (out of 15), buildings (out of 29), energy and water utilities (out of 18), transportation (out of 28), and the community as a whole (out of 10). Analysts deciding each city’s ranking evaluated the categories from the perspective of a city’s energy policy and performance as well as its current plans and future actions. Below is a breakdown of the five categories as well as how each category was evaluated:
- Local Government Operations (15 pts possible)
- Community-Wide Initiatives (10 pts possible)
- Building Policies (29 pts possible)
- Energy & Water Utilities & Public Benefits Programs (18 pts possible)
- Transportation Policies (28 pts possible)