PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – New rankings show that Philadelphia’s quest to go green is headed in the right direction.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its annual list of American cities with the most Energy Star-certified buildings, and Philly ranks 11th. That’s up from 15th in 2011 and 24th in 2009.

According to the EPA, the City of Brotherly Love has 174 Energy Star-certified buildings — meaning that they perform in the top 25-percent of similar buildings as verified by a professional engineer or a registered architect — that save us $26.7 million a year.

Los Angeles came in first for the fifth year in a row, and Washington, D.C. ranked second.

The EPA says that the more than 20,000 Energy Star-certified buildings across the U.S. helped save more than $2.7 billion in utility bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions that are equal to the emissions from the annual electricity use of more than two million homes.

To see the EPA’s rankings, visit: www.energystar.gov/ia/business/downloads/Top_Cities_chart.pdf