Published: San Antonio Business Journal
Date: July 5, 2011

Texas has been named the eighth top sustainable state in the United States in the July issue of Site Selection magazine.

States were ranked by a host of factors including the number of renewable energy manufacturing and supply chain facilities, the number of LEED certified projects in each state, the amount of renewable energy generation per capita, incentives offered for green projects and alternative-fuel vehicles in use.

California is the country’s top sustainable state, followed by Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Vermont, Texas, Massachusetts and New Mexico.

“Top-ranking areas for sustainability don’t just pass restrictive laws or put token solar panels on every edifice,” writes Site Selection Managing Editor Adam Bruns. “They nurture an ecosystem of business, institutions, government and individual citizens all striving to place a proper value on their locality’s limited resources, and sometimes to make or save money in the process.”

On the magazine’s Top (10) Sustainable U.S. Metro Areas list, the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos areas tied with Phoenix for the seventh-highest ranked sustainable market. No other Texas metros market made the top 10.

Site Selection magazine is published by Atlanta-based Conway Data Inc. Site Selection provides news and information on planned plant expansions to 44,000 executives. Conway Data is an international publishing and association management company.