New report ranks Texas in the middle for sustainable development

room to improve

Texas ranked 24th on SmileHub's list of the best states for sustainable development. Photo via Getty Images.

Texas appears in the middle of the pack in a new ranking of the best states for sustainable development.

SmileHub, a nonprofit that rates charities, examined 20 key metrics to create its list of the best states for sustainable development. Among the metrics it studied were the share of urban tree cover, green buildings per capita and clean energy jobs per capita. Once SmileHub crunched all the numbers, it put Texas in 24th place — one notch above average.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as “meeting present needs without compromising the chances of future generations to meet their needs.”

Here’s how Texas fared in several of SmileHub’s ranking categories:

No. 2 for water efficiency and sustainability
No. 7 for presence of wastewater reuse initiatives
No. 18 for environmental protection charities per capita
No. 25 for green buildings per capita
No. 34 for clean energy jobs per capita
No. 34 for industrial toxins per square mile
No. 38 for share of tree cover in urban areas

California leads the SmileHub list, followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, Oregon and Maryland.

When it comes to water, a 2024 report commissioned by Texas 2036, a nonpartisan think tank, recommends that Texas invest $154 billion over the next 50 years in new water supply and infrastructure to support sustainable growth, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.

“The report underscores a stark reality: a comprehensive, sustainable funding strategy for water is necessary to keep Texas economically resilient and competitive,” the partnership says.

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In addition to its No. 22 overall ranking, Texas took first place in the "Vulnerability to Climate Change" category.

Texas named most vulnerable state to climate change in new report

lone star disappointment

The Lone Star State performed most averagely in a new report that ranked all 50 states on environmental protection.

Texas ranked No. 22 on the report from SmileHub, a nonprofit tech platform using data to evaluate charities. The report analyzed 23 metrics — from energy efficiency score and industrial toxins per square mile of land area to climate change vulnerability — factoring in data from U.S. Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture, and more.

"The U.S. produces over 292 million tons of waste per year, or over 4.9 pounds per person per day, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency," reads the report. "Additionally, due to pollution, California, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina each have over 12,000 miles of river unsuitable for human contact. Pollution and waste are issues across the U.S., but some states work harder than others to limit their impact."

In addition to its middle-of-the-pack No. 22 overall ranking, Texas took first place in the "Vulnerability to Climate Change" category. Here's how else the state measured up:

No. 18 – Environmental Protection Charities per Capita
No. 36 – Share of State Land Designated for Parks and Wildlife
No. 28 – Energy Efficiency Score
No. 28 – Share of Population Using Green Transportation
No. 33 – Total Tonnage of Landfill Waste per Capita
No. 28 – Industrial Toxins per Square Mile of Land Area

It's not the first time the state performed poorly on recent environmental reports. In April, WalletHub evaluated the current health of states' environment and residents’ environmental-friendliness. Texas ranked No. 38, meaning it was the thirteenth least green state, only scoring 50.40 points out of 100.

Additionally, Houston has stood out for the wrong reasons. In May, Houston was ranked as the No. 15 most polluted city in the U.S. according to data compiled by the National Public Utilities Council. No other Texas city appears in the ranking. Three California cities — Bakersfield, Visalia, and Fresno — took the top three spots.

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California company launches Tesla Megapack battery project in Houston area

power on

Oakland, California-based Nightpeak Energy announced earlier this month that its 150-megawatt battery storage project in Brazoria County, known as Bocanova Power, is now operating to address Houston’s peak capacity needs.

“This battery storage project will enhance grid reliability in the Alvin area while continuing to support integrating renewable energy,” Cary Perrin, president and CEO of the Northern Brazoria County Chamber of Commerce, said in a news release. “I believe we need energy storage now more than ever for its pivotal role in reducing strain on the grid while meeting fast-growing power demand in Texas and Brazoria County."

The project reached commercial operation in August, according to the release. The project utilizes Tesla's Megapack 2 XL battery storage system, and the facility operates under a long-term power purchase agreement with an undisclosed “investment-grade power purchaser.”

“Bocanova Power demonstrates the speed at which Nightpeak Energy is overcoming complex challenges to energize projects that support America's growing need for affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” Paris Hays, co-founder and CEO/CDO of Nightpeak Energy, added in the news release. “Unprecedented AI data center and manufacturing growth has only accelerated the need for these resources.”

Hays added in the release that the company has plans for more energy infrastructure projects in Texas and in the Western U.S.

Nightpeak Energy develops, owns and operates power plants that support the growing capacity needs of a decarbonized grid. It also owns and operates 240 MW of battery storage and natural gas generation facilities.

The company was founded in 2022 and backed by equity funding of up to $200 million from Dallas-based investment firm Energy Spectrum Capital.

Texas ranks low on most energy-efficient states report

by the numbers

Texas has room to improve when it comes to energy efficiency, recent data from WalletHub shows.

The personal finance website ranked Texas at No. 35 on the latest Most & Least Energy-Efficient States list. Texas improved by one spot on the 2025 report, after coming in at No. 36 last year.

The report measured and ranked the efficiency of auto energy and home energy consumption in the 48 U.S. mainland states based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Climatic Data Center, U.S. Energy Information Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration.

Texas earned an overall score of 50.60. It was ranked No. 27 for home energy efficiency and No. 41 for auto efficiency. By comparison, No. 1-ranked Vermont earned a score of 85.30, ranking No. 2 for home energy and No. 6 for out energy.

The top five overall states included:

No. 1 Vermont
No. 2 California
No. 3 Washington
No. 4 New York
No. 5 Massachusetts

South Dakota earned the top rank for home energy efficiency, and Massachusetts earned the top rank for energy efficiency.

“Energy efficiency doesn’t just help save the planet – it also helps save you money by lowering the amount of electricity, gas, oil or other types of energy you need to consume. While there are some steps you can take to become more energy-efficient on your own, living in the right area can give you a big boost," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report. "For example, certain states have much better public transportation systems that minimize your need to drive, at least in big cities. Some places also have better-constructed buildings that retain heat better during the winter or stay cooler during the summer.”

According to the report, some progress is being made in increasing energy efficiency across the country. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects 26 percent of electricity generation in 2026 will come from renewables. A number of them are being developed in the Houston area, including recent announcements like the Pleasure Island Power Collective in Port Arthur.

Still, Houston earned an abysmal ranking on WalletHub's greenest cities in the U.S. report earlier this year, coming in at No. 99 out of 100. Read more here.

Port Houston reports emissions progress as cargo volumes climb

greener growth

Port Houston’s initiatives to reduce emissions have shown some positive results, according to new data from the Port of Houston Authority.

Pulling from the Goods Movement Emissions Inventory (GMEI) report, which tracks port-related air emissions, Port Houston cited several improvements compared to the most recent report from 2019.

The port has seen total tonnage and container volumes increase by 16 percent and 28 percent, respectively, since 2019. However, greenhouse gas emissions have increased at a slower rate, growing only by 10 percent during the same time period, according to the data.

Additionally, emissions of nitrogen oxide fell by 7 percent, and emissions of particulate matter fell by 4 percent, despite adding 280 more pieces of cargo handling equipment.

“These results show that our emission-reduction efforts are working, and we are moving in the right direction,” Chairman Ric Campo said in a news release.

The Port Commission also recently approved items related to the $3 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports Program (CPP) grant, which it received last year. The items will allow the port to work towards five new sustainability initiatives.

They include:

An inventory of the port’s Scopes 1, 2, and 3 for greenhouse gas emissions
A Port Area Climate Action Plan for the area and surrounding communities
A CPP Truck Route Analysis
Creation of the CPP Trucking Industry Collaborative
Design of a customized website for Port of Houston Partners in Maritime Education, which is a non-profit leading maritime workforce development effort in local schools.

Port Houston aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, Innovation Map.

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