Florida ranks in top 5 most eco-friendly states in sustainability study. Here's why

Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·2 min read

Forbes Home recently released a list, ranking all 50 states from most to least environmentally friendly, and Florida placed in the top five most sustainable U.S. states.

“Forbes Home examined all 50 states on factors like water usage and solar energy consumption. Some states demonstrated their efforts at prioritizing conservation and eco-conscious practices better than others,” the study says.

“However, collectively, the move toward greater sustainable practices from state to state is a positive upward trend.”

Here’s where Florida placed on Forbes’ list of the top 10 most environmentally friendly states in the U.S. and which five states rank in the bottom.

What U.S. state is the most eco-friendly?

Forbes’ study ranked Massachusetts as the most environmentally friendly state and North Dakota as the least.

“Massachusetts’ water usage was 200.57 gallons a day, compared to North Dakota’s 1,796.96 gallons a day,” the study says. “Massachusetts’ energy use was 192.2 million BTU per year while North Dakota’s was 904.9.”

Rhode Island placed in second, New York in third, California in fourth and Florida rounded out the top five.

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Here are the top 10 most environmentally friendly states in the U.S., according to Forbes’ study:

  1. Massachusetts

  2. Rhode Island

  3. New York

  4. California

  5. Florida

  6. Georgia

  7. Vermont

  8. Hawaii

  9. New Jersey

  10. Arizona

Personal finance company WalletHub's April list ranking the "greenest" states didn't rank Florida so high, though.

That list, which compared each of the states across 25 metrics, like soil, air and water quality, energy consumption per capita and a variety of emissions, ranked Florida in 31st place. California topped these rankings, in first place for being the state with the most energy-efficient public policies.

Here are the five least environmentally friendly states in the U.S., according to Forbes’ study:

  1. North Dakota

  2. Wyoming

  3. Louisiana

  4. Montana

  5. Nebraska

What is an example of sustainability in everyday life?

For businesses and organizations, being eco-friendly can look like developing sustainable business practices, like green technology and eco-friendly supply chains to reduce different forms of pollution like air, water and waste.

When it comes to being more eco-friendly at home, there are a lot of things you can do, like avoid using plastic bags or straws, plant trees, compost, recycle glass, paper and aluminum, switch to solar energy, conserve water by taking shorter showers and running sinks less, upgrade to energy-efficient appliances, drive an electric car and more.

If you want to take it a step further, you can switch your cleaning products, home essentials, clothes and even shoes out for eco-friendly brands. USA TODAY’s Reviewed has a list of 13 eco-friendly brands for 2024 that it released during Earth Month in April.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida ranks high for sustainability in this environmental study