Honolulu was one of two major U.S. cities named “most livable” by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Indianapolis last week.

To be selected, municipalities must have a minimum population of 30,000. Honolulu, one of approximately 1,400 cities in the group, was selected by former U.S. mayors from a pool of more than 150 applicants.

The “most livable city” award recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and instituting programs that improve the quality of life of a city. It focuses on a mayor’s demonstrated leadership, creativity and innovation.

The organization, in a press release, cited the city’s 26-year-old HPOWER waste-to-energy program as a key reason for awarding Honolulu, calling the city “the country’s leader in waste to energy conversion.”

“HPOWER is a creative solution to Honolulu’s solid waste disposal problem,” the release said. “HPOWER has become critical to Honolulu’s municipal solid waste management plan, reducing Honolulu’s dependence on imported oil through annually displacing 700,000 barrels of oil and decreasing the demand on the island’s only municipal landfill.”

Honolulu won in the “large city” category while Beverly Hills, Calif., took the “small city” award for its Ambassador Program that aims at coordinating local government, private and nonprofit entities to address homelessness and improve community life.

The 37th annual awards were co-sponsored by the conference and Waste Management, a company with headquarters in Houston.

Waste Management operates the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill under contract with Honolulu. HPOWER is owned by the city and operated by Covanta Energy under a separate contract.