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Events

Resources

What is Sustainable Development?

Kicking off a regular feature to commemorate Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, last Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured excellent editorials by Kate Dewey and Frederick Thieman (see links below). Both authors give insights and suggestions for how our region can seize the 250th to catalyze progress for future prosperity.

Here at Sustainable Pittsburgh, we note recurring themes in both pieces that align well with the principles of sustainability. The context is that sustainability, at its core, is about long term vision and being attentive to trends and early signals while developing capacity for agility -- to constantly course-correct and embrace change (sort of like the embedded wisdom in natural selection, always fine tuning). Dewey and Thieman point to the need for a higher capacity to learn from the past, keeping an eye on the big picture, and breaking free from daily systems that bind and too often sidetrack us from doing the logical and being innovative. We celebrate the Pittsburgh region's 250th and toast the future whose success will be founded in applying sustainability's three-legged foundation to accelerating progress (social, economic, and environmental integration). We hope you will enjoy a piece Sustainable Pittsburgh recently wrote for a business client that attempts to define sustainable development.

Opinion 250: Past as prologue by Kate Dewey
We shall overcome: by Frederick Thieman

Like what you're reading? Become a member of Sustainable Pittsburgh! Your support helps us accelerate sustainability in Southwestern PA to make life better today and for generations to come.

Resources Continued

Contractor/Consultant training for PA Home Energy Program

Rater Training: Jan 14 - 18 from 8:30am to 4:30pm
BPI Training: Jan 28 - Feb 1 from 8:30am to 4:30pm
Fee: See below
Washington and Jefferson College, Washington PA
For more information, please contact Kathy Greely at (814) 558-8082 or kgreely@psdconsulting.com.
www.pahomeenergy.com/events2.html

PA Home Energy is announcing another round of training Building Professionals seeking to participate in the PA Home Energy program. Limited to 10 participants per class.

Pre-requisites:
To attend the Rater Training, you need a commitment to certification and performing work in accordance with the PA Home Energy program. To attend the BPI training, you must have already taken the Rater test.

Cost:
*Rater training is $1200 and includes testing.
*BPI training is $1000 and also includes testing.
A percentage of the cost of the training will be refunded upon completion.

Rising energy prices and environmental concerns have increased consumer, professional and trade interest in green building technology and energy efficiency. In response to this combination of need and demand, the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF) has developed "PA Home Energy(TM) to help connect consumers with energy consultants and service providers who can provide high quality green energy services.

FHLBank Pittsburgh to hold Affordable Housing Program Workshop in Monroeville

Thursday, January 31
Radisson Hotel, Monroeville, PA
9:00 am - Noon
Register: http://www.fhlb-pgh.com/ahp_workshop.html

FHLBank Pittsburgh is holding eight workshops within its district to provide an overview of the Affordable Housing Program (AHP). All potential applicants are encouraged to attend one of the workshops as important changes have been made to AHP for 2008. Most notably, the maximum grant amount has been increased from $500,000 to $650,000, hopefully making it easier for sponsors to cover any gaps in their project financing. Continental breakfast will be served.

For more information about the Affordable Housing Program and the 2008 AHP funding rounds or any other community investment product, please visit www.fhlb-pgh.com and go to the “Housing & Community” link. FHLBank Pittsburgh can also be reached at (800) 288-3400.

GHG Inventory Software Workshop

Thursday, February 7
Contact: Dr. Stan Kabala at 412-396-4233, kabala@duq.edu or Lindsay Baxter at 412-396-4749, lindsay_baxter@hotmail.com.

The Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) of Duquesne University and Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP) will offer a free, half-day workshop to demonstrate how individuals can use software tools to conduct inventories of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from campus activities and operations. This workshop is designed for faculty, students, and staff who are interested in completing an inventory of the carbon footprint of their campuses.

A CERE team of faculty and graduate students completed an inventory of Duquesne’s GHG emissions in 2007. The team, headed by Dr. Stan Kabala, will share practical insights about the inventory process that they learned along the way. Jennifer Andrews of CA-CP will discuss campus carbon footprints and carbon calculators and describe the support that is available from CA-CP.

Green$ense Conference

Wednesday, March 5
7:30 am to 3:45 pm - Green building tour at 4pm
David L. Lawrence Convention Center (Downtown Pittsburgh)
Registration fees vary
Visit the conference website for more details.

Green$ense, hosted by the Green Building Alliance, is a one-day conference highlighting strategies in green building featuring breakout sessions and case studies with nationally recognized experts. Exhibit booths displaying green building products and an afternoon tour of Bakery Square is also available. The event features the Shades of Green Leadership awards recognizing Western Pennsylvanians who have contributed to the environmental transformation of the region.

Climate Change Uncertainties: Opportunities for Business Innovation?

Thursday, March 27
Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh North, 910 Sheraton Drive, Mars, Pennsylvania 16046
Contact Jerry Swart at (412) 262-6291 - jerry.swart@fedex.com or John Quinlisk at (412) 503-4537 - John_Quinlisk@URSCorp.com with any questions.

Three of Pittsburgh’s business, engineering and environmental professional organizations are coming together to convene a regional conversation about climate change, its impacts and our responses. Climate change, global warming, greenhouse gases, carbon footprint; all of these terms and issues continue to appear in conversations in our media. Many of these conversations are heated and controversial. One thing is clear about this situation: these issues will present challenges to businesses and individuals, simply because of the degree of interest people have in the topics and resulting worldwide concern and debate. Interest in climate change topics has already prompted foreign, federal, and state governmental considerations and actions.

To meet these challenges, the Pittsburgh section of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI), in association with the Allegheny Mountain section of the Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA) and Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Champions for Sustainability (C4S) network invites the region’s business, engineering, and environmental professionals to a one-day seminar focusing on climate change.

Resources

Can Burt’s Bees Turn Clorox Green?

. . .Burt’s Bees, a niche company famous for beeswax lip balm, lotions, soaps and shampoos, as well as for its homespun packaging and feel-good, eco-friendly marketing. . . is owned by the Clorox Company, a consumer products giant best known for making bleach, which bought it for $913 million in November. Clorox plans to turn Burt’s Bees into a mainstream American brand sold in big-box stores like Wal-Mart. Along the way, Clorox executives say, they plan to learn from unusual business practices at Burt’s Bees — many centered on environmental sustainability. Clorox, the company promises, is going green.

The Falling-Down Professions

Make no mistake, law and medicine--the most elite of the traditional professions--have always been demanding. But they were also unquestionably prestigious. Sure, bankers made big money and professors held impressive degrees. But in the days when a successful career was built on a number of tacitly recognized pillars--outsize pay, long-term security, impressive schooling and authority over grave matters--doctors and lawyers were perched atop them all. Now, those pillars have started to wobble.

More

ShopSmart: Top green, charitable, labor-friendly companies listed

Greenhouse gases, sweatshops, child labor, oil spills, toxic waste -- most people feel helpless to stop it all, but they are still extremely concerned. There is one constructive thing shoppers can do: Buy from companies that treat their employees and the environment right. It's easier said than done, since it's tough to keep up with which companies use recycled packaging or support community projects. So Shopsmart, the new shopping magazine published by Consumer Reports, sorted it out -- and found plenty of companies that are doing the right thing.

The cream of the green

Everyone is keen on "green," meaning environmentally friendly, energy-efficient and just plain kind to the Earth. Though green materials and products are generally more expensive up front than their counterparts, they often use less energy and save money in the long run. Even if they don't, you can rest easier knowing you're doing your part for the environment. Here are our top 10 green products used in home building and remodeling, starting with the least expensive.

Pa. ranks 34th in state competitiveness

Pennsylvania slipped two places to 34th in an annual ranking of the competitiveness of the 50 states. . .The competitiveness index is based on 42 indicators that evaluate government and fiscal policy, security, infrastructure, human resources, technology, business incubation, openness and environmental policy.

South West chamber talks grants, plans

To gain an upper hand on the field, [U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair] said municipalities ought to forge partnerships not only with one another but with local merchants. A good example, he said, was a bid he's already working on involving Carnegie, Heidelberg and Scott. . . In Collier, manager Jeanne Creese said efforts continue to tackle the difficult issue of encouraging sustainable but also controllable growth. . ."It's always a focus of mine to be aware that our growth puts a burden on the communities that are not growing around us," she said.

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible

In this opening keynote of the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, Willard Hay, Starbucks senior vice president, explains how the company embraces a responsible approach to suppliers as a core part of its business through its C.A.F.E. Practices program.

World moving towards 'vibrant sustainable economy': report

"Years ago, it was environmental groups that were most concerned about environmental issues. Later, governments got on board and now we see key players in business involved," he said. "When you see all three of those major sectors of society working on those issues and increasingly working together, there is real hope of turning our economies into sustainable ones." But the challenge has to be taken up fully and quickly if it is "to lead to new innovative ways to organize economic activity and avoid a breakdown of the global economic system and the unravelling of political institutions," Flavin said. "This is the single largest challenge facing the world today," he said.

EU to boost innovation in green markets

Actions foreseen in the initiative will more than double the sectors' combined annual turnover to €300bn and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the commission claims. The actions include better regulation, green public procurement and making product standards more innovation-friendly, particularly for small and medium size firms.

Smart growth and the 2008 election

In the spirit of the now highly spirited presidential primary contests, we’ve gone back to review what the remaining contenders are promising about energy, transportation, urban issues, housing and the environment. Not all these issues have risen to the level of a position statement for each candidate, so we’ve gathered what we can from the candidates’ websites, the debates, and a few interviews. (On environmental issues in particular, Grist Magazine and the League of Conservation Voters both have done in-depth analysis of the candidates’ environmental platforms.)

Is there more to sustainability than green building?

We may look back on 2007 as the year when the issues of sustainability, energy independence, and climate change became mainstream in the national sphere. All the big news magazines had “green” cover stories, and NBC even had a week of programming devoted to spreading the message that we’ve gotta “go green!”

Who is really free?

In essence, we have raided the earth's energy trust fund and we have now used roughly one-half (and the easy-to-get half, at that) of the 2-trillion barrel total planetary endowment. It's been a great party, but it is instructive to recall that before we undertook the industrialization of civilization, for all those millions of years, the earth's human carrying capacity was limited to no more than about 1 billion to 2 billion people by the energy of sunlight and by nitrogen fixed naturally in the soil so essential in growing our food.

The End of Sprawl?

The collapse in the housing market and high gasoline prices are bad news for middle-class homeowners left to sift through the wreckage. But if there is consolation to be found amid the rubble, it may be that the inexorable spreading out that has characterized American life since World War II might finally be coming to an end. Given the connections between car-dependent suburban development and social ills from climate change and the destruction of wetlands to obesity and social isolation, the end can come none too soon.

Commuting by Road, but Not by Car

As $3-a-gallon gas prices remain common around the region, and mass-transit advocates urge commuters to leave their cars at home to ease congestion on the roadways and cut air pollution, bus systems are attracting new riders like Ms. Murtha. Over the past year, ridership is up in Connecticut, New Jersey and Westchester and on Long Island.

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Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh Region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.

Sustainable Pittsburgh benefits from support in 2007 from:

Dollar Bank
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
The Giant Eagle Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
University of Pittsburgh


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1335
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
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