The average PM2.5 concentration in Suzhou was 30 micrograms/cubic meter in urban areas; the proportion of days with good air quality in the urban area was 80.8%. 95% of the water qualification met the standard of Excellent III in the evaluation at national and provincial level. For the first time, the water quality of the heart of Yangcheng Lake reached Class III. Qiputang River in Suzhou was awarded as China's "Most Beautiful Lake in Hometown". Taihu Lake has achieved a safe summer for 16 consecutive years. With its water quality at the best level in a decade, Taihu Lake was rated as an Excellent Lake by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for the first time. The ring road around the Taihu Lake was selected as one of the "Ten Most Beautiful Rural Roads" in China.
The newly added and renovated green spaces in urban area of Suzhou covers 2.642 million square meters. 252 pocket parks and small urban green spaces were built in the city. It also witnessed the addition of 12 "near-zero carbon" factories, 2 national green industrial parks, and 18 green factories. In the entire year of 2023, 1,835 VOCs treatment projects were scheduled. The city has achieved a full coverage for the "three fixed items and one superintendent" community in terms of domestic waste classification. And the harmless treatment rate of domestic waste has reached 100% in both urban and rural areas.
Wuzhong District was awarded the National "Two Mountains" Practice Innovation Base and ranked first in terms of GEP among all national municipal districts. Zhangjiagang was selected as the first batch of national demonstration counties (cities) for intensive natural resource conservation.
