Some countries have adopted laws and measures to accelerate their sustainable transition policies, which has a direct impact on citizens’ lifestyles. So much so that even within Europe, environmentally conscious habits vary from country to country.
To get an idea of these “eco-cultural” differences, the English platform Savoo took a close look at 30 European countries and created a top 10 of the most eco-friendly countries (and the least eco-friendly).
To create this ranking, the platform relied on the official report of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, taking into account several precise elements such as the recycling rate, the annual waste production per household and even the reduction of the carbon footprint associated with consumption.
The survey also took into account other criteria such as the number of outlets per country offering Second-Hand items (flea markets, second-hand shops).
Luxembourg finds itself among the bottom four, with only Greece, Ireland and Malta being less eco-friendly.
While the Grand Duchy isn’t too bad with recycling, as 52.9% of waste gets recycled in Luxembourg, the country has difficulties when it comes to reducing the consumer footprint, receiving a score of negative 38,90%.
The overall score is 5.0, which some countries consider a failing grade, however in Luxembourg, it’s just enough to pass.
As usual with such rankings, the top performers are to be found in the north of the continent: Finland tops the ranking, followed by Denmark.
Finland has achieved this position by reducing the carbon footprint of its residents’ consumers by 20.37% between 2010 and 2020.
Denmark, for its part, is the champion of recycling (53.9% of waste in this country was recycled by 2020) and receives the highest score in this area of the ranking.
Slovenia, known for its ecological commitment, stands out for having the “lowest number of household waste per capita of all countries” (about 34 kg per year) and comes third in the top list.
Read also: Do citizens have confidence in the EU & judiciary institutions? which was based on data from the Social Development Goal 16.
