The ‘Greenest People’ in Great Britain – where does your city rank?
Research by Honda reveals where Brits are actively being eco-friendly in their everyday lives.
The league table below is based on household recycling data, domestic CO2 emissions and household eco measures, combined with survey responses from over 2,000 UK adults asking about smart meters, commuting methods and their attitudes toward being more environmentally friendly.
The cities home to the greenest people are as follows:
| Rank | City | Recycling Score | Emissions score | Eco Measure Score | Smart Meters Score | Commuting Score | Attitude Score | Total Score |
| 1 | Manchester | 4.51 | 9.41 | 6.69 | 5.85 | 4.49 | 6.94 | 10.00 |
| 2 | Plymouth | 3.32 | 9.01 | 4.52 | 2.84 | 4.63 | 10.00 | 9.01 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 1.12 | 8.09 | 5.11 | 6.02 | 4.14 | 8.26 | 8.51 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 0.65 | 7.60 | 5.48 | 7.63 | 3.83 | 7.23 | 8.39 |
| 5 | Birmingham | 0.00 | 7.28 | 6.44 | 7.57 | 4.69 | 5.81 | 8.26 |
| 6 | Cardiff | 6.28 | 7.84 | 2.57 | 7.22 | 4.13 | 3.33 | 8.11 |
| 7 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 3.97 | 6.57 | 2.71 | 10.00 | 3.94 | 3.02 | 7.76 |
| 8 | Bristol | 6.33 | 8.15 | 1.36 | 4.03 | 4.44 | 4.87 | 7.50 |
| 9 | Southampton | 1.82 | 10.00 | 4.42 | 2.45 | 3.86 | 5.96 | 7.30 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 0.40 | 7.57 | 4.49 | 6.55 | 4.05 | 5.41 | 7.26 |
| 11 | Brighton and Hove | 1.80 | 7.70 | 0.95 | 4.57 | 5.02 | 8.32 | 7.25 |
| 12 | Leeds | 4.16 | 5.16 | 4.02 | 8.01 | 3.88 | 3.07 | 7.22 |
| 13 | Edinburgh | 4.19 | 5.47 | 2.72 | 7.44 | 3.61 | 4.85 | 7.17 |
| 14 | London | 2.84 | 7.99 | 0.74 | 5.27 | 5.15 | 4.93 | 6.80 |
| 15 | Norwich | 4.06 | 7.33 | 0.57 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 5.62 | 5.30 |
| 16 | Sheffield | 2.24 | 6.22 | 2.48 | 4.45 | 4.82 | 0.00 | 4.87 |
Manchester residents claim the top spot for being the ‘greenest’ people in Great Britain, followed by Plymouth and Nottingham. In fact, Plymouth respondents achieved the highest score for their attitudes4 towards being eco-friendly.
While more respondents in Newcastle upon Tyne reported they have a smart meter installed than any other city (51% compared to Britain’s average of 41%), it is Southampton that takes the crown for the lowest estimate of domestic CO2 emissions, followed by Exeter and Portsmouth.
At the other end of the scale is London, Norwich and Sheffield, with the latter receiving the lowest score for their attitude towards being more eco-friendly. According to the survey, Norwich’s residents have fewer smart meters among them than any other city in Britain, with only 28% saying they currently have one in their home. Furthermore, while Birmingham places fifth in the overall league table, residents there have the lowest score in the country for recycling their household waste.
To understand the extent to which people’s attitudes towards being eco-friendly may have changed as a result of experiencing lockdown, Honda commissioned a second survey, and while some attitudes remain similar, there are differences to note. While 62% believe their recycling habits have stayed the same throughout lockdown, 26% say they now recycle more and 10% recycle less. Of those who have been recycling more, 50% say it is because they have had more time to recycle. However, of those who have recycled less, 29% say they do not see the point in trying to recycle more and 27% can’t be bothered.
When asked to compare their packaging and single-use plastics consumption now versus before lockdown, 47% say this has not changed. However, nearly a quarter (23%) say they have ordered items online which come delivered in excess packaging more regularly, and 16% say they’ve used more single-use plastics for prevention measures, such as disposable gloves and masks. 11% have ordered from takeaways that use single-use plastic more regularly and 10% have used more disposable cups, plates, cutlery and containers.
Less people now turn all lights and electricals off every time they leave a room (41%) compared to the 46% that said they did before lockdown. Cardiff now do this more than any other city (60%), but Norwich’s residents turn all lights and electricals off when leaving a room less often than anyone else (10%).
Survey results suggest that lockdown has encouraged some people to re-evaluate their environmental impact. For instance, 30% said they will limit their use of single-use plastics, 21% said they will limit their water usage and 17% said they will eat a more sustainable diet. Nearly a fifth (19%) said they will not be changing anything in their everyday life to be more eco-friendly.
The research marks the release of Honda’s first fully electric car – the Honda e. Rebecca Stead, Head of Automobile at Honda UK says, “With global warming and climate change being one of the biggest concerns to face our planet, there is no denying that there is an ever-growing importance to address what we do now to protect the world we live in. As Honda continue to work towards a more electrified future, we want to celebrate the people in Britain who are actively thinking of the environment and trying to be more eco-friendly in their everyday lives.
“It’s important we all do what we can to take steps to help the environment and we want to champion those that are doing this. We hope this research will also encourage more people to do the same and take any step they can – big and small – to protect the planet.”
For more information about the findings, please visit: https://www.honda.co.uk/engineroom/britains-greenest-people/
