Denver placed 9th in list of 15 most sustainable cities by Grist, a Seattle-based nonprofit established in 1999 that monitors and reports on environmental news.

Seattle is the most sustainable big city in the nation, according to a list compiled by Smarter Cities, an NRDC project that looks at the progress American cities are making toward going green. Not surprisingly, San Francisco and Portland are the runners-up.

“Greenprint Denver has worked very hard with all of our City agencies to implement a more sustainable form of government,” said Scott Morrissey, Deputy Director of Greenprint Denver. “From our extensive parks system and their staff who have implemented natural areas and enhanced sprinkler systems to Public Works and its biodiesel street sweepers, Denver is working on multiple fronts to implement ‘green’ changes. It is nice to see these efforts recognized nationally.”

Using data from the EPA and the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as some voluntary survey responses from city governments, the project identified the top 15 large, medium, and small cities according to 10 different environmental criteria, from air quality to recycling to transportation.

The Mile High City was selected for its many water conservation programs (“Denver conserves water like nobody’s business,” ), as well as the new B-cycle bike sharing program and extensive system of city parks.

The full list of 15 Cities is: 1) Seattle 2) San Francisco 3) Portland 4) Oakland 5) San Jose 6) Austin 7) Sacramento Boston 9) Denver 10) Chicago 11) San Diego 12) New York 13) Los Angeles 14) Dallas 15) Columbus, Ohio