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Events

Resources

Sustainable Business Solutions in the news

Sustainable Business Solutions, a social enterprise of Sustainable Pittsburgh was recently featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for its comprehensive sustainability assessment of The Mall at Robinson. The yearlong process engaged a multi-disciplinary team of some 13 experts who applied a whole systems approach to identify and provide quantified recommendations that will benefit the Mall today and long into the future. The approach focuses on opportunities for continuous improvement to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, contribute to a healthy environment, and benefit community, customers and stakeholders.

Here's a recent Post-Gazette article on the Mall's leadership:

Malls getting a little greener

The Robinson team learned about the new directive at a 2005 management meeting in which Forest City executives announced the company had added "sustainability" to the list of core values. "In the very beginning, we weren't quite sure what it meant or what it meant to us," conceded Ms. Edwards.

Her team put a call into Sustainable Pittsburgh just as the nonprofit was looking for a place to pilot a new service. The group wanted to pull together experts to assess everything from energy use to construction materials to community accessibility, even the impact on wildlife habitat...Mall officials received a long list of recommendations organized into three categories depending on how easy they would be to accomplish and the potential payoff..."We haven't spent much money," said Ms. Edwards, who said her staff had become sensitized to the possibilities and looked at even simple decisions differently...He said ideas implemented at the Robinson mall had been taken to other Forest City projects around the country...As a pilot project, the assessment went well. Now his organization hopes to do the same thing for others, offering the service under the name "Sustainable Business Solutions." www.post-gazette.com/pg/07182/798278-28.stm

As indicated in the article, the Sustainable Business Solutions team stands ready to assist businesses of all types to integrate sustainability into day-to-day management and operations. As was the case with the Mall, most recommendations do not require intensive capital investment and pay off quickly in terms of cost savings, materials conservation, and customer loyalty.

Could your enterprise benefit from engaging Sustainable Business Solutions to partner on a comprehensive sustainability assessment? Contact: Sustainable Business Solutions at 412-258-6643.

Resources Continued

Pittsburgh Named North American City of the Future

Thursday, July 12
7:30 am
Omni William Penn Hotel
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
NAIOP Members: Complimentary. Supporting Organizations: $25. Guests: $35
Register: 412-928-8303 or naioppittsburgh.com

NAIOP presents Courtney Fingar, Editor fDi Magazine. fDi Magazine is the specialist inward investment title of the Financial Times Group. Now just over five years old, fDi has an audited circulation of 15,000 and a readership of 45,000 -- consisting mainly of senior-level executives for the world's top companies as well as some SMEs, location consultants, governments, legal advisers, property consultants and investment promotion agencies.

Celebrate Recycling - Official launch of newly renovated City recycling drop-off center and "hard to recycle" collection

Saturday, July 14
10 am - 2 pm
Construction Junction - N. Lexington Street, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh (Point Breeze)
Info: (412) 488-7490 x243 or prc.org

The Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh Recycling Division, Appliance Warehouse, and Construction Junction, is accepting major appliances including air conditioners and refrigerators, tires, scrap metal, cell phones, and ink cartridges during its "hard to recycle" collection. Additionally, PRC is partnering with the City of Pittsburgh Recycling Division to celebrate the grand opening of the City's newly renovated recycling drop-off, which is located in the Construction Junction parking lot. Recycling regulars will be happy to note the increase in bins, a roof, and a smooth parking lot! For the newcomers, it's a dream come true! The public is welcome to stop by for games, giveaways, prizes and activities-fun for the whole family! Learn why it's important to recycle, talk to representatives from local organizations including PRC and Free Ride (think: Recycle A Bike program), get your picture taken with Buster the Recycling Raccoon, and test your intelligence with the infamous "can guess" game.

Sustainability and Smart Growth Forum:"Corridor Planning: Lessons from the Route 30 Master Plan"

Wednesday, July 25
11:30 am - 1 pm
23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave.
Fetterolf Room
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Bring a brown bag lunch - beverages and dessert provided
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642

Hosted by: Local Government Academy and Sustainable Pittsburgh

The Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County (SGPWC) has initiated a collaborative corridor planning process to create a vision and plan for a 40-mile stretch of the historic “Lincoln Highway”. This section of Route 30 connects the historic small cities and growing suburbs east of Pittsburgh to the scenic Laurel Highlands. When complete, the Route 30 Master Plan will become a strategic blueprint for Westmoreland County’s economic growth corridor. Learn how this corridor plan is utilizing sound transportation and land use planning approaches to develop cost-conscious investment priorities, intelligent strategies for congestion management and multi-municipal development regulations and design guidelines.

Attend this program to learn about the corridor planning process including: how the process got started and how it’s progressing; getting stakeholders on board; providing public participation opportunities; and keeping the momentum going.

Speaker: Alex Graziani – Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County

Sustainability and Smart Growth Forum: "A Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania"

Thursday, August 2
11:30 am - 1 pm
23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave.
Fetterolf Room
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Bring a brown bag lunch - beverages and dessert provided
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642

Hosted by: Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Sustainable Pittsburgh

Governor Rendell and the General Assembly are actively working on legislation and regulatory proposals concerning alternative energy generation, biofuel development, and energy efficiency. These proposals have tremendous implications for the future of our environment, our economy, and our quality of life. Equally important, these proposals represent a collective step toward addressing the challenge of climate change in Pennsylvania.

In June the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) released its Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania – a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth, as well as an up-to-date inventory of existing emissions. Currently our state generates approximately 1% of the worldwide total of greenhouse gases, placing us alongside the top 25 emitting nations in the world. Brian Hill and John Walliser from PEC will present the findings of the Roadmap and facilitate a discussion on its relation to the many policy proposals circulating in Harrisburg.

DiverseCITY Pittsburgh Festival

August 16 - 19
PNC Firstside Park - Grant Street & First Avenue
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
Info: diversecitypittsburgh.org

The inaugural DiverseCITY Pittsburgh Festival will include free concerts and performances by national and local entertainers; fun, cultural and artistic activities for youth and children; international foods, exhibits by local community services and cultural organizations and a global marketplace.

Resources

Sustainable Dream Job: Allegheny Land Trust Director of Development

This newly created development position is expected to expand the base of support that ALT has garnered from the private and public sectors. This new position reports to the Executive Director and works with and supports the Board of Directors. ALT has forged an excellent reputation as a small and effective land trust, and therefore has earned substantial support from individuals, businesses and foundations. Last year, ALT’s membership made gifts averaging $135. Areas of opportunity for ALT include growing the endowment, initiating a planned giving program, sponsorships of land conservation areas, continued growth of membership and individual gifts, and the initiation of special and donor cultivation events.

New Penn Future Podcast: Fighting for Energy Independence

Pennsylvania has the opportunity to move away from the escalating costs, insecurity, and negative environmental and economic impacts of energy dependence on foreign, fossil fuel based, polluting, and energy-hogging sources of electricity and fuel. Governor Rendell proposed the Energy Independence Strategy in February 2007, and the package is currently under serious consideration in the General Assembly.

There's money to be made in them there green ideas

Two main forces are driving business leaders' embrace of all things green. First, the recognition that the risks posed to business by climate change, pressure on water supplies, and chemical and other pollution is growing. Companies are also seeing the potential for revenue generation in the development of new products, clean technologies, renewable fuels and other green goods and services. Certainly, the increase in severe storms and the devastation caused by events such as Hurricane Katrina have sent powerful messages to the business community about the dangers of ignoring their impact on the planet...Some of the pressure for companies to address their carbon footprint is coming from consumers. Tesco, for example, has embarked on an ambitious labelling initiative that will eventually allow shoppers to compare products by their emissions levels just as they may do with price or nutritional value. "Society expects high environmental standards, so ultimately for consumer-facing companies it could become a matter of survival," says Mr Hands. "The terrain has shifted quite markedly, particularly in the past year." ..While the focus on carbon brings its own problems, Mr Beloe sees it as the precursor to the mainstreaming of sustainability, a process he believes resembles the way that IT moved from its silo in the 1990s to the centre of business models. "The same will happen with climate change and, ultimately, with environmental issues more broadly," he says. "Climate change is a precursor of a bigger agenda, which is about the environment as a whole."

U.S. Climate Action Partnership Expands Its Membership to 29 Organizations

The United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) announced two new members today -- The Chrysler Group and Ford Motor Company -- as part of its second expansion in less than six months. The group now includes 23 of the world's largest corporations and six of the nation's most respected non-governmental organizations.

What Women Need to Understand About Retirement

This easy-to-read seven chapter book, developed jointly by the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), is full of information women (and men) need to know about planning for their financial future. It also details the questions to ask and provides specific steps that people can take. Each chapter is written by an expert on retirement security issues. WISER was created in 1996 by a grant the Heinz Family Philanthropies (the personal philanthropy of Teresa Heinz Kerry) to provide low and moderate income women (aged 18 to 65) with basic financial information aimed at helping them take financial control over their lives. In order to ensure as many women as possible get access to this critical information, we are publishing What Women Need to Understand About Retirement online, for free. This allows women to get what they need to know without having to buy a book - and to use those dollars instead towards their retirement future.

Steel City to Solar City?

Mr. Ravenstahl said that climate change and sustainable power were hot topics at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting he attended in Los Angeles last month. "It's starting to slowly, but surely, become a reality in the city of Pittsburgh."

Mayor's letter on police promotions

I am upset and frustrated by the existing obsolete City rules that allowed for these promotions to take place in this way. It won't stand. It must change. We must make those changes necessary to restore faith in City Government. That is the good that has come this day. Today, we'll begin to change a practice and a process that has been going on for decades. It's time this City embraced a zero tolerance policy on domestic violence.

Buy a Hummer, Get a $25,000 Tax Break

Among the provision's strongest opponents are automobile manufacturers and dealers who argue that repealing the exemption amounts to a tax increase.

Finding Solutions To Fund Transit

While the consequences of inaction are grave, solutions are within reach. “Finding Solutions to Fund Transit” highlights basic principles for evaluating potential revenue sources and considers several funding options available to state lawmakers to create a sustainable funding system for supporting the growing public transportation needs of Northeastern Illinois.

Lessons in economy: Renovating old schools

Hundreds of school districts throughout Pennsylvania have made similar decisions. They have replaced existing schools rather than renovating and perhaps enlarging them. Often, the new schools are placed on the urban fringe, spawning car-dependent development and draining the life from older communities. Concerned by this trend, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association recently sponsored a publication called Renovate or Replace? The Case for Restoring and Reusing Older School Buildings. The booklet features essays by Gov. Rendell's top cabinet officers, arguing that renovating older schools can save tax dollars, reinforce established communities, and still provide facilities that meet 21st-century educational standards.

Portland’s Green Dividend

Being green means Portlanders save a bundle on cars and gas, and local residents have more money to spend on other things they value, which in turn stimulates the local economy...This is a good minimum estimate of the aggregate economic benefits—the green dividend—that Portland area residents enjoy as a result of land use planning and related environmental policies. But the benefits don’t stop there.

Bee Colony Collapse Mobilizes Federal Rescue Effort

Two bills now making their way through the U.S. Senate are aimed at reversing the decline in the nation's population of honey bees. "Managed honey bee colonies have collapsed at alarming rates, 25 percent nationwide, and scientists still have not fully discovered why. But the latest declines are part of a larger trend, with honey bee colonies down 50 percent in the past 50 years," said Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment Committee.

46 of 56 homicides Black lives

As part of an ongoing effort to heighten awareness about the effects of murder in Black communities, the New Pittsburgh Courier will compile a list of homicides in the County each month. It is their hope that as the list of victims grows, so will a true understanding of how these lost lives effect the mental health, economic well-being and self-images of the region’s Black neighborhoods. There were 95 homicides total in 2006—75 took the lives of Black people, 70 of those were Black men. There have been 56 homicides in Allegheny County as of June 30—46 of which have taken the lives of Black people, 42 of those murdered were Black men.

Companies Giving Green an Office

The corporate roster of "chiefs" used to be pretty short: chief executive, chief financial officer and, maybe, chief operating officer. Then came the chief marketing and technology officers. Now, the so-called C-Level Suite is swelling again - this time, with chief sustainability officers. These are not simply environmental watchdogs, there to keep operations safe and regulators at bay. The new environmental chiefs are helping companies profit from the push to go green.

Uganda Bans Plastic Bags, Promotes Banana Leaves

A ban on plastic bags in Uganda took effect on Sunday to cut down the stinking piles of rubbish that litter its dusty capital and other urban areas, breeding germs and poisoning water supplies. Officials want Ugandans to instead use banana leaves, the traditional material for carrying goods.

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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
E-mail SP