Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl announced in her state of the city address this afternoon that Evanston has become just the second city in the nation to win four-star certification for sustainability.
The Star Community Rating system was developed by a group of sustainability officials and activists from around the country.
Evanston got in on the ground floor of the effort, participating in pilot of the program starting in November 2012.
It gained 488 of a possible 720 points in the first round of scoring.
The only other city to receive the four-star award so far, Tacoma, Washington, scored 405.9 points.
In addition, Broward County, Fla., has received a four-star rating, with 436.6 points.
The only other one of the over 70 participating communities to have a rating issued so far is Indianapolis, which got a three-star rating with 365.3 points. No community has yet received the top-level five-star designation.
State. Rep. Robyn Gabel, NU President Morton Schapiro and Mayor Tisdahl at the State of the City luncheon.
In her speech the mayor also praised the recent agreement under which Northwestern University has pledge to hire city residents for campus construction projects, praised the courage of firefighters and police and claimed the city had achieved a new economic development record last year with over 70 new businesses opening.
The today city also released its annual report for 2013