Top sustainable governments and green leases.

• Position: News & Numbers

Each year, Site Selection magazine creates a list of the Top Sustainable States, Metros and Foreign Countries, and these governments share a key component: They tend toward smarter planning and transit-oriented development.

The top sustainable states are California, Oregon, Washington, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. State ranking criteria and sources: green industry projects and per capita projects, including renewable energy manufacturing and supply chain facilities, biofuels and biomass, recycling plants, electric vehicle supply chain, etc.; number of LEED certified projects and LEED per capita; level of green incentives and support; EPA brownfield redevelopment funding; renewable power generation; alternative fueled vehicles per capita; and energy efficiency scorecard rankings.

The top sustainable metros were: Washington D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia; Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois; New York-Newark-Edison, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts; Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California...