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Sustainability Special #2: New York

With almost 20 million people living in The Big (Green) Apple, moving forward on sustainability is a compelling task. To say the least.

Sustainability Special #2: New York

With almost 20 million people living in The Big (Green) Apple, moving forward on sustainability is a compelling task. To say the least.

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Sustainability August 5, 2025
Local governments are wide awake in the city that never sleeps anyway. In a national survey, New York was crowned 3rd most sustainable city in the US (of the 200 biggest US cities). Quite an achievement.

New York is a practitioner of leadership in sustainability.

With eco-forward incentives and the best transit score, New York (No. 3) rises to first place in both Policy and Transportation. NYC sustains the most Global Green partners and ties with Baltimore (No. 8) for the most incentives and policies supporting renewables and green energy.

11TH

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1ST

TRANSIT SCORE

89TH

FOOD PRODUCTION

1ST

NUMBER OF INCENTIVES & POLICIES SUPPORTING RENEWEABLES AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

164TH

POLLUTION

Challenges remain – especially concerning pollution – but New Yorkers are not afraid to take things head-on.   

The NYC Carbon Challenge has so far saved $200 million in energy costs and reduced participants’ annual emissions by over 600,000 metric tons. New York is hoping to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Climate change impacts New York City and its residents and causes more extreme heat, extreme rainfall, coastal storm surge, and chronic tidal flooding.

Read more

However, implementing sustainability in your next MICE project in New York is easy peasy.

Life in NYC is an inherently sustainable proposition. The City’s subways, buses and 1,000-plus miles of bike lanes and routes make it easy to get around without a car. Walking and biking throughout NYC, whether strolling alongside rows of brownstones, visiting historical sites or exploring the greenways, are among the great pleasures of the City. Farmers’ markets and farm-to-table restaurants ensure that residents and visitors eat fresh local food. Oases like Central Park and Prospect Park are destinations for outdoor activities that yield health and environmental boons. Sustainability projects here are sometimes spectacular sights: for example, an urban farm, with rows of lettuces, on a building rooftop.

Take a bike or walking tour

The City’s hundreds of miles of greenways are great for biking and walking, and there’s an extensive system of bike lanes and paths. Bike rentals are easy through many different service providers.

Eat at farm-to-table restaurants

You can reduce your carbon footprint while pleasing your palate at restaurants around the five boroughs that celebrate the delicious flavours of regionally grown food. 

Visit green landmarks

The High Line Park is perhaps the most celebrated of urban reuse projects, the transformation of an abandoned railway into one of the City’s most sought-after parks. The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center has a 6.75-acre green roof that visitors can tour.

Sustainable Travel Practical Guidelines

CHOOSE NEW YORK

New York’s Sustainability Special is part of our 2023 theme around practising leadership with regard to considering the impact of Incentive travel on local economies and communities.

Read our manifest HERE

Where others think vertical, we think horizontal. And vice versa. Let us surprise you with lateral thinking for your next MICE program.

ALWAYS SIDEWAYS.

So here you have it.

Design a sustainable MICE project or a deluxe individual program with us.
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