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Scott Jagow: Something called the Ethisphere Institute comes out with a new report today. It applauds 20 cities around the world for their eco-friendliness and business practices. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Danielle Karson has more.

Danielle Karson: New York, London, Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi — Ethisphere says those are some of the cities that make the sustainability grade.

Alexander Brigham: You see in London; New York; Curitiba, Brazil, that they’re trying to reduce the usage of vehicles.

Alexander Brigham heads up Ethisphere. He says the think tank looks at environmental and business friendliness, sound health care systems, and good transportation and housing practices.

Brigham: Those are all components which actually make it a much higher quality of life.

Urban experts say the report is on target. Jennifer Wolch directs the University of Southern California’s Center for Sustainable Cities.

Jennifer Wolch: Whether it’s environmental planning or transportation, what does it mean for the ecological conditions in the city? And that’s kind of challenging. But this kind of holistic thinking, I think, is what we have to engage in.

Wolch hopes the report jump starts a global conversation about how to make cities more sustainable.

In Washington, I’m Danielle Karson for Marketplace.