Portland ranked second-greenest metro in the U.S.

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Portland held on to it's second-place ranking in Site Selection annual report on green metro areas.

Site Selection magazine released its annual Green Guide Tuesday and the Portland metro area held onto its ranking as the second most sustainable metro area in the United States, behind San Francisco.

Oregon was ranked the third most sustainable state, behind No. 1 California and No. 2 Washington, holding steady with last year.

The guide is compiled annually and is aimed at green-leaning companies that might be looking for a new home.

Criteria include green industry projects as tracked by Conway Data, the magazine's publisher, number of LEED certifications, incentives, brownfield funding, energy efficiency ratings by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, alternative fuel use and the Clean Energy Leadership Index compiled by Portland-based Clean Edge.

"Top-ranking areas for sustainability don't just pass restrictive laws or put token solar panels on every edifice," reads the introductory article for the 2011 guide. "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."

The full report is available in the July issue of the magazine and features an interview with Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Here are the top fives in each category:

Metro areas:

1. San Francisco
2. Portland
3. Los Angeles
4. Chicago
5. New York

States:

1. California
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Minnesota
5. Colorado

Countries:

1. Canada
2. Spain
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Sweden

@SustainableBzOR | christinawilliams@bizjournals.com | 503.219.3438