City of Bloomington Receives Top A-List Rating for Climate Action, One of 119 Cities Worldwide

Bloomington has again earned a top spot on the CDP Cities A-List, receiving the highest score for transparency and bold climate action. More than 900 cities from around the world reported to CDP in 2023. Only 13% received an A rating, including Bloomington, one of only six Midwest and 36 U.S. cities to earn the highest grade. 

CDP releases extensive annual questionnaires for cities to disclose and report on progress managing environmental impact. CDP examines progress on emissions inventories, adaptation and mitigation targets, sector action planning, and adaptation and mitigation actions. Every year the bar is raised, as criteria for receiving an A rating become more rigorous, requiring cities to continue to elevate their commitments to and progress on climate action and ensure the gold standard of transparency and accountability. 

Bloomington received an A rating in 2019, and then under the ever-tightening restrictions, in 2022 Bloomington received a B rating for maintaining our existing commitments to climate action. In 2023, the City once again met the rising standards, with its continued progress boosting the city’s rating back to an A. 

“In the global response to the climate emergency, cities play a critical role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “Earning a place among the world’s most ambitious cities for climate action is a true honor and testament to Bloomington’s continued commitment to sustainability. It is something to be celebrated here at home, and a reminder we must always up our game. I want to thank the City Council and the whole community for strong support for these efforts. It’s also encouraging that CDP’s A-list continues to grow each year.”

In the year since Bloomington’s 2022 CDP report, the City has completed a number of important projects that earned the top rating, including updating the community-wide greenhouse gas inventory, developing a comprehensive, community-based Climate Resilience Plan, and launching the regional collaborative, Project 46, to expand climate action on a regional level. The millions of dollars of annual investments toward climate progress provided by the Economic Development Local Income Tax adopted in 2022 are instrumental in supporting these and other projects.

In addition to such projects, Bloomington demonstrated progress on mitigation goals through key program metrics, such as the expansion of renewable energy through the Solar, Energy Efficiency, and Lighting (SEEL) program, and tons of waste diverted from the landfill through the City’s Compost Up, Downtown program. 

Heading into 2024, the City will focus also on resilience and adaptation,  with a new Climate Resilience Plan and efforts to address climate risks and vulnerabilities further enhancing Bloomington’s ability to report on a more diverse set of initiatives rather than focusing on mitigation efforts alone. Initiatives will target the City’s preparedness in responding to climate hazards such as extreme heat, increased precipitation, and the risks these hazards pose to air quality, health, infrastructure and the local economy. 

In the midwest, Bloomington is joined by the following cities that continue to step up to the plate to build a more equitable and climate-safe future: Indianapolis, Ann Arbor (Michigan), Cuyahoga County (Ohio), Evanston (Illinois), and Oak Park (Illinois). The full inventory of A-List of cities can be found on CDP’s webpage. 

About CDP 

CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The world’s economy looks to CDP as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest and most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. CDP was established as the ‘Carbon Disclosure Project’ in 2000, asking companies to disclose their climate impact. Since then, CDP has broadened the scope of environmental disclosure, to incorporate deforestation and water security, while also building reach to support cities, states and regions. Visit cdp.net/en/cities to learn more.