YORK has made a list of the most eco-friendly cities in the UK based on a unique 'eco-points' system.
Awarded for its array of vegan eateries and green spaces, York’s Coppergate Shopping Centre ranked third with a total of 339 so-called 'eco-points'.
It comes as York is set to get its first electric car charging hyperhub by the end of April while another independent business - stocking vegan and organic products - opened up just last week.
Read more: A guide to eco-friendly 'green' shops in and around York
The city has the fourth highest number of vegan eateries - 162 - and the second most local green spaces in the UK - 20.
How are 'eco-points' calculated?
Intrigued to uncover which UK high street is home to the most eco-friendly residents and amenities, energy switching site SaveOnEnergy devised a point-based Eco-Rate Index to calculate the most and least eco-friendly high streets in the UK.
SaveOnEnergy analysed nine different variables that commonly relate to eco-friendliness and devised a scoring system to rank each high street.
The facilities that deemed to be 'eco-friendly' factors include: recycling centres, charity shops, health food stores, independent stores, charging stations, local green space, vegan eateries, and a positive air quality ranking.
The scoring per facility is calculated by taking into account the impact that each amenity has on the environment. For example, recycling centres are likely to have a stronger environmental impact than health food stores.
After combining the scores from each variable, each high street is left with a total.
The greater the total score for each high street, the more eco-friendly that high street is. The lower the total score for each high street, the less eco-friendly the study will find them.
Cambridge won first place in the eco-friendly study with 357 points while Cardiff took second place with 350.
York was closely followed by Edinburgh at 311 points while nearby Leeds - the Headrow - took fifth place with 297 points.
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