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Events

Pittsburgh's first Day of Giving - Pittsburgh Foundation matches donations .50 cents to the dollar

Sustainable Pittsburgh seeks donations to support Sustainability Assessment of Wilkinsburg

Through the generosity of The Pittsburgh Foundation, you have a one-time opportunity to significantly leverage your donations to nonprofits that are featured on a new online giving Web site: PittsburghGives.org.

Please consider making an online donation to Sustainable Pittsburgh through this web site on Wednesday, October 28 at 10:00 am sharp. Your donation will be matched .50 cents on the dollar by The Pittsburgh Foundation up to a maximum of $2,500!

Sustainable Pittsburgh will designate your donation and the match funds you leverage toward conducting a Sustainability Assessment of the Borough of Wilkinsburg.

A Sustainability Assessment is a niche service we offer to municipalities and businesses to assess and recommend practical means to save money, conserve resources, and integrate sustainability into management systems for the long haul.

Please help us help Wilkinsburg -- a community to be applauded for its commitment to accelerating the policy and practice of sustainability. Wilkinsburg is on the cusp of a transformation. Through collaboration with the state, county, local businesses and nonprofits, the community is laying the foundation for future prosperity where sustainability is the framework for maximizing social, economic, and environmental wins. The Sustainability Assessment is well-timed to complement their soon to be completed local comprehensive planning process.

In helping to deploy Wilkinsburg's Sustainability Assessment, you not only benefit this community but the region as a whole as the sum is only as strong as the parts.

Learn more by visiting www.sustainablepittsburgh.org/PittsburghGives_SP.html.

Resources

Sustainable Development Academy presents:
The Cranberry Plan

Thursday, September 24
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cranberry Township Municipal Building, 2525 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township
Fee: $20.00; Tour and Lunch included
Register

Avoid G-20 traffic problems and receive training relevant to our region and the global economy!

Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work-—today and tomorrow. Both the current and future resident benefit when a local government approaches its service to taxpayers with the point of view that simultaneously cares for the economy, social equity and the environment. Indeed sustainability is a process--a work in progress. Happily a growing number of municipalities in our region are adopting sustainability as a framework for their progress. As the region is host to the G-20 on September 24, local governments in southwestern Pennsylvania have an opportunity to consider how they can best serve their communities in a global economy by advancing the policy and practice of sustainable development.

Join in this in-depth program on “The Cranberry Plan” -- a community planning process guided by principles of sustainability. This day long program is designed to be "nuts and bolts" and features both an overview of the plan's process and goals. In addition to an instructional program by the plan's key developers, this program will feature tours and demonstration of key implementation activities relating to policy, operations, and engineering, including:
Public Works & Physical Plant: Buildings, Vehicle Maintenance, Alternative Fuels
Energy & Climate Action Plan
Transportation Management: signalization project
Golf Course: irrigation, Audubon certification
Sewage Treatment

Graham Park: streambank stabilization Transportation Management: traffic roundabout

Presented by:
Cranberry Township
Local Government Academy
Sustainable Pittsburgh

This program is available to those communities declared fiscally distressed by Act 47 at no charge.  A limited number of scholarships are also available from the Michael P. Lynch Scholarship Fund for other municipalities via the Local Government Academy.

Road to Sustainability

Tuesday, October 13
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Community College of Beaver County Dome
Cost: $35 per person (includes breakfast and lunch)
Contact: CCBC’s Career and Workforce Development Office at 724-480-3600
Registration and more information

“The Road to Sustainability” Conference is aimed at providing information to businesses and organizations about what it really means to “go green” as well as what it will take to get the current workforce trained to do so. Scheduled topics include the following:
• Sustainable Development
• Green Building and LEED
• Energy Auditing
• Mechanical Systems
• Grant Writing
• Act 129 opportunities
• Act 167 and Future Storm Water Management
• Solid Waste Management

Attendees will hear from regional experts in the sustainability movement as well as from a panel made up of corporations who are taking the lead in helping to make their businesses environmentally-friendly. A Resources Room will also be available throughout the day, highlighting vendors displaying green products and services. If you are interested in being a vendor for a cost of $125 per table, contact us soon.

Hosted by:
Community College of Beaver County (CCBC)
Congressman Jason Altmire
L. Robert Kimball & Associates
Sustainable Pittsburgh

Adventures in Regionalism – European style
How Pittsburgh can learn from Turin, Italy and Essen, Germany

Sustainability and Smart Growth Brown Bag Forum
FEATURING: Tracy Certo, Pop City; Pat Getty, Benedum Foundation; Allen Kukovich, Power of 32; and Audrey Russo, Pittsburgh Technology Council

Tuesday, October 20
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Regional Enterprise Tower, 23rd Floor, A.E. Hunt Room
No fee to attend. Bring a bag lunch. Desserts provided. To register, email: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or call 412-258-6642

While the Pittsburgh region is recognized internationally for its comeback story, nevertheless many regions around the globe similarly offer valuable lessons from their own renaissances. The featured guests of this forum are recently back from a Transatlantic Cities Network idea-exchange in Europe hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the US. Come hear about the regionalization reform strategy of two metropolitan areas: Turin, Italy, and Essen, Germany. What lessons apply to Southwestern Pennsylvania and our mega-region as we aspire to prosper and compete in the ever-broadening global contest? With the G-20 behind by the time of this discussion, the question surely will be: How to catalyze the Pittsburgh region's next great story of prosperity through regional collaboration and sustainable development on the global stage? For a discussion preview, see Tracy Certo's article in the Post-Gazette.

Global Sustainability - Trends and Developments in the Built Environment

Sustainability and Smart Growth Brown Bag Forum
FEATURING: Vivien Loftness, University Professor at the School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University and a Senior Researcher for the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics

Friday, November 6
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Regional Enterprise Tower, 23rd Floor, Fetterolf Room
No fee to attend. Bring a bag lunch. Desserts provided.
To register, email: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or call 412-258-6642

Vivien Loftness is an internationally-renowned researcher, author and educator with expertise in environmental design and sustainability, advanced building systems and systems integration, climate and regionalism in architecture, as well as design for performance in the workplace of the future. An appointee to the Assurance Group to Advance Mandate of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Vivien will discuss global sustainability trends and developments. She will also provide insight to the work of WBCSD, a CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. The Council provides a platform for companies to explore sustainable development, share best practices, and to advocate business positions. Come learn about the business case for and how businesses in our region can be advocates for sustainability here and globally.

Presented by:
Green Building Alliance
Sustainable Pittsburgh

7th Annual Public Officials Sustainable Community Design Charrette
CALL FOR MUNICIPALITIES

Friday, November 20
8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Greentree Municipal Building
Free; lunch will be provided.
Open to limited number of municipalities.

Municipalities in SWPA, this is for you:
Free expert consultation on pressing sustainable community design challenges and opportunities.

Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network, AIA Pittsburgh, and the Local Government Academy are now welcoming interested municipalities to propose to be "clients" for this free, half-day, hands-on, charrette-style consultation.

How it works: Up to five municipalities will be selected to benefit from the assistance of a team of pro bono experts. The municipality identifies a pressing sustainability challenge or opportunity and we assemble a team of experts to be on hand to work through the issue and generate practical solutions. Issues may relate to: main street revitalization, infill development, transportation access, energy efficiency or resource conservation, community development, a social or human service concern, community or green space, etc. For ideas and insights, refer to the Sustainable Community Rapid Assessment and 14 Sustainable Community Resource Sheets found at: www.sustainablecommunityessentials.org

Are you an interested municipality? Please call 412-258-6643. We'll discuss your needs and determine if there's a good fit. All that is required is attendance from your municipality to include at least one elected official, a municipal staff person, and one community leader.

6th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Equitable Development Summit
"Going Regional on Addressing Blighted and Abandoned Properties"

Tuesday, December 15
8:30 am - 12:30 pm (8:00 am - Registration and Continental Breakfast)
Twentieth Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland
Fee: $10 Sustainable Pittsburgh members; $15 non-members
To register and for more information, contact: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642
Keynote: John Kromer, Sr. Consultant at the Fels Institute, author of Fixing Broken Cities: The Implementation of Urban Development Strategies

The presence of blighted and abandoned properties are among Southwestern Pennsylvania's most pressing threats undermining sustainable communities and regional equitable development. Blight and abandonment is a tip of the iceberg issue that undermines and potentially exacts a downward spiral sentence on quality of life and prosperity across social, economic and environmental essentials for a sustainable community. Without mitigation, this problem will continue to grow and be a drain on the region’s resources. It undercuts the ability of the region's communities to maintain their footing as places of choice. There are real costs. As the Statewide Blight Task Force noted in 2008, “Blight is an “economic crime” costing taxpayers and municipalities millions of dollars annually in lost property tax revenues, sewer and water fees, and increased municipal expenditures.”

Addressing blight and abandonment offers the chance to build assets in a community. It is a win-win strategy that pays in stabilizing neighborhoods, increased revenue, job creation, increase in property values and lower crime. Given the regional nature of this issue, regional approaches are in order. However, at present, there exists no regional plan, decision-making table, nor coordinated regional effort to tackle the growing crisis of abandonment and blight in our communities.

This year's Summit will present findings are recommendations from recent work, specific to our region, on how regional capacity can be developed to address blight and abandonment. Practical strategies and cooperative efforts will be highlighted as ripe for deployment to the benefit of individual communities and the regional as a whole. The Summit will be a key milestone in developing new structures and well-substantiated plans for raising capacity around the region to attack blight and return properties to community benefit and often local tax rolls.

Keynote, John Kromer is Senior Consultant at the Fels Institute of Government and is the author of Fixing Broken Cities: The Implementation of Urban Development Strategies. He is a serving as strategic consultant to Sustainable Pittsburgh's Regional Blighted and Abandoned Properties Solutions Project.

Presented by:
- Sustainable Pittsburgh's Sustainable Community Development Network
- University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs: Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership

Sponsored by:
The Buhl Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Richard King Mellon Foundation

Conservation + Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Rwanda

Thursday, September 17
6:30 pm
Equita, 3609 Butler Street, Lawrenceville
Free Admission; bring a friend.
Questions: 412-353-0109 or info@shopequita.com

Join Equita at its "Think Globally!" Lecture Series. This event features a lecture and Q & A discussion with Jamie Kemsey, International Gorilla Conservation Program and Kayo Yamada, Japan International Cooperation Agency/Rwanda.

140th Anniversary Lecture Series – Dr. Thaïsa Way, Ph.D., ASLA

Monday, September 21
7:30 pm
Mellon Board Room, Chatham University, Woodland Road, Shadyside
Admission is Free.
RSVP to Felisha Guy at 412-365-1516

Dr. Way is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington where she teaches design, history and theory. Her book, Unbounded Practices: Women and Landscape Architecture in the Early Twentieth Century (2009), was supported in part by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation.

Her research explores alternative histories of the design professions and practices. Dr. Way received a bachelor of science in conservation and natural resources from the University of California, Berkeley (1983), a masters of architectural history from the University of Virginia (1991), and a Ph.D. in architecture from Cornell University (2005). Her dissertation, Woman as Force in Landscape Architecture, 1893-1942, was acknowledged with a student honor award in research by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Sycamore Island Public Meeting

Tuesday, September 22
7:00 pm
Oakmont Yacht Club
Contact: Doug France at 412-741-2750 or email admin@alleghenylandtrust.org

The first of several public meetings to discuss Sycamore Island will be held at the Oakmont Yacht Club. The scientists of Applied Ecological Services and Allegheny Land Trust staff members will present initial findings of the Sycamore Island ecological assessment and discuss direction of the management plan. Attendees will be invited to share their personal knowledge and stories about Sycamore Island and the surrounding area. There is only limited parking available in the upper and lower lots at the Yacht Club. Additional on-street parking (free) is available on Washington Avenue, 2nd Street and 3rd Street.

Third Annual Rachel Carson Legacy Conference
When Chemicals Disrupt: Managing Our Risks

Friday, September 25
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Bidwell Training Center, 1815 Metropolitan Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Tickets: $90
Pre-registration and pre-payment is required.
More information

Featuring leaders of national and state government, academic institutions, environmental and social justice advocacy organizations and medical science, the conference will address the dichotomy between critical protection of the environment (and our bodies and those of the next generations) from endocrine disrupting contaminants and the unbridled economic interest of those who produce substances which directly or indirectly act as endocrine or developmental disruptors.

Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and other such synthetic compounds known as endocrine disruptors are chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. They are used widely in agriculture, industry and consumer products. They fool the body into over-production or under-production of natural hormones. They have been linked to feminization of fish, hermophrodization in frogs, and there is a growing body of scientific evidence that links endocrine disruptors to obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes in humans. Other research has shown that male sperm count is dropping and that genital abnormalities in newborn boys are increasing.

National and regional speakers include:
Dr. Linda Birnbaum, Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Ken Cook, President of Environmental Working Group
Jerome Ringo, President, Apollo Alliance
Dr. Terry Collins, Thomas Lord Chair of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Conrad Dan Volz, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Michael Wilson, Research Scientist, School of Public Health, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California, Berkeley
Tim Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Green OX Catalysts, Inc.
Paul Renner, Associate Director, The Labor Institute
Dr. Talal El-Hefnawy, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh U.S. Representative Michael Doyle

LEED The Way to Green Buildings – Part IV: Sustainability and Green Products

Monday, September 28
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Regional Enterprise Tower, 23rd Floor, R.A. Hunt Room, Downtown Pittsburgh
Cost: $15.00 includes lunch and workshop materials
RSVP By: Friday September 25, 2009 to: 412-392-0610 or information@aaccwp.com

Featuring:
Richard V. Piacentini, Executive Director
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, one of the world’s most sustainable conservatories
and
Janice Donatelli, President
Artemis Environmental Building Products

Join the African American Chamber of Commerce for this workshop that has something for everyone. Come learn about Phipp’s Conservatory’s ‘Green Heart Project’, and how to adopt a more sustainable relationship to the environment. You will also learn about expanding the availability and use of green building products in this region, and about new options for improving your home & business environment. Who should attend? All business owners and professionals: attorneys, architects, business consultants, accountants, and construction & trade professionals.

2009 Guyasuta Fellowship Program - Call for Fellows

FIRST SESSION: A Historic Perspective on Rebuilding the Economy
Wednesday, September 30
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
City County Building, 9th Floor (Allegheny County Bar Association Meeting Room), 414 Grant Street, Downtown Pittsburgh
To become a Fellow, sign up on-line or contact Guyasuta Fellowship and provide name, address, and phone number.
More information

Councilman Bill Peduto’s Guyasuta Fellowship Program, a policy forum for young people and citizens who want a voice in creating public policy, will engage experts and move policy from community needs to informed and actionable recommendations that link the green economy to neighborhood priorities. This year’s Fellowship specifically addresses the green economy for Pittsburgh’s disadvantaged and underserved communities. The Fellowship requests young and committed residents of Western PA who are determined to live in the region for at least the next two years to five years to join in.

The Guyasuta Fellowship is managed by Jackson/Clark Partners and is a project of Pennsylvania VOICE and State Voices, a Michigan based 501c3 nonprofit. 2009 partners include the Regional Equity Monitoring Project (REMP - a project of B-PEP and the Hill House Association), PennFuture, Keystone Progress Education Fund, PennEnvironment, Repower America, the Kingsley Association, GLUE and Sustainable Pittsburgh. Additional partner opportunities are available - e-mail us at Guyasuta Fellowship for more information. The Guyasuta Fellowship Program is made possible through a grant from the Heinz Endowments.

Three Rivers Bioneers Conference

October 16-18, 2009
Times:
- Friday Registration 7:30 am - 8:15 am. Conference 8:15 am - 5:30 pm, with social events in the evening until 7.
- Saturday Registration 7:30 am - 8:15 am. Conference 8:15 am - 5:30 pm, with social events in the evening.
- Sunday Registration 8:00 am - 9:00 am. Conference 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.
Pittsburgh Project in the Northside
Fee: Full Registration (3 Days) $99.00; Student/Low Income Registration (3 Days) $75.00; Single Day Registration $45.00; Two Day Registration $90.00
For more information and to register, visit www.3riversbioneers.org/registration

Founded in 1990, Bioneers promotes “practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies for restoring Earth’s imperiled ecosystems and healing our human communities”. The Bioneers believe in a systemic "solve-the-whole-problem" approach”, “Taking care of nature means taking care of people, and taking care of people means taking care of nature”. They “connect the dots among most areas of human endeavor including environment, health, justice and spirit”.

The annual conference held every October has grown so large, and so popular, that twenty cities throughout this country are now holding satellite conferences in tandem with the main conference in California. The Pittsburgh Urban Ecology Collaborative is partnering with Bioneers to bring a 2009 satellite conference to Pittsburgh this fall.

3Rivers Bioneers will feature some of our local visionaries, with mornings of workshops and tours. Locally grown and cooked meals will precede the national speakers; an evening of socialization, networking, and fun will follow. The two keynote speakers are two true Bioneers. Khari Mosley is the Director of Green Economy Initiatives at GTECH and is the liaison with the national organization, Green for All. He will be speaking on regarding green jobs and social justice. Greg Boulos, the Western Region Director of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), will be speaking about local food/local economy. These two will be joined by over 40 other visionaries that will be running morning workshops on everything from urban school gardens to how to form community benefit agreements.

Green, Healthy Schools Conference

Wednesday, October 28
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Phipps Conservatory, Oakland
Cost: Members of GBA, Tri-State Area School Study Council, or Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens: $95
Non-members: $110
More information

Featuring Two Nationally Recognized Keynote Speakers: David Orr and Bob Kobet

Twenty percent of United States residents attend school every day - that's more than 56 million students and more than four million faculty, staff and administrators. Over 25% of these students and teachers attend schools that are considered substandard or dangerous to occupant health.

Green schools are healthier for students, teachers and the environment. When built right, green schools are productive learning environments with ample natural light, high-quality acoustics and air that is safe to breathe.

Public and priviate schools alike are realizing that going green just makes sense. On average, green schools save $100,000 per year--enough to hire two new teachers, buy 250 new computers, or purchase 5,000 new textbooks. If all new school construction and school renovations went green starting today, energy savings alone would total more than $20 billion over the next 10 years.

By promoting the design and construction of green schools, we can make a tremendous impact on student health, test scores, teacher retention, school operation costs and the environment. Presented by Green Building Alliance in collaboration with Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, the Tri State Area School Study Council, and University of Pittsburgh School of Education.

Rental Housing Finance: Third Course in PCRG’s 4-Part Community Development Finance Training Series

November 2-4, 2009
Doubletree Hotel in Pittsburgh (One Bigelow Square)
The Tuition:
- Regular Tuition: $595/person
- 501(c)3 Staff: $395/person ($200 discount per person)
- PCRG Members: $195/person ($400 discount per person)
Please direct all questions and RSVPs to sstutts@pcrg.org or 412-391-6732 x208.
RSVPs must be received by Monday, October 19th. Participants will receive some pre-program materials to look over in the few weeks leading up to the course.

The Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) has partnered with the National Development Council (NDC) to bring the three-day course “Home Ownership Finance” to Pittsburgh! This class examines in detail the financing and developing of rental property. The course emphasizes the criteria used by lenders and investors to decide if they will put money into a project. The course also explores methods to attract private funds and the use of public funds to fill financing gaps. Topics to be covered include financial projections, private financing, tax credits, and deal structuring. This course is intended to be introductory, with no prior knowledge of home ownership deals required.

This course is made possible by funding and support from Citizen’s Bank, Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Their support has allowed us to assist neighborhood groups and other non-profit organizations by providing scholarships to attend this valuable program. Scholarships are reflected in the discounted registration fees. You may save an additional 10% when registering two or more people for this training program.

State Transportation Hearing has been rescheduled

Thursday, November 5
8:00 am
31st Floor Conference Room, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh
Please contact Mr. Nolan Ritchie via email if you have additional questions.

This hearing is rescheduled from the original August 21st date. Please note the date for submitting written testimony has been extended to Friday, November 13, 2009. Click the following links to access the updated guidelines and project abstract form.
Project Abstract Form Electronic Submission
2011 STC Hearing Guidelines

Pennsylvania’s Twelve Year Transportation Program identifies the Commonwealth's improvement efforts in all major transportation modes: highways, bridges, aviation, rail and transit. The transportation program included in the first four years of the Twelve Year Program is referred to as the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP. The update of the Twelve Year Transportation Program provides a valuable opportunity for members of the general public to provide input to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the State Transportation Commission. This public input provides direction for maintaining and improving Pennsylvania’s bridges and highways, public transportation system, aviation, and rail freight infrastructure.

Resources

Sustainable Community Essentials Resource Sheets available online

Toward cultivating greater capacity for sustainable practice around Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Sustainable Community Development Network of Sustainable Pittsburgh partnered with leading organizations to produce a new series of Sustainable Community Essentials Resource Sheets and a Rapid Assessment for communities. These resource sheets identify 14 essentials of a sustainable community - from Air Quality to Food Security to Governance - and provide an explanation of each topic and case studies – a perfect tool for community leaders to use as they work to improve their neighborhoods.

SWPA Infrastructure Primer - Updated August 2009

In January 2009, the Infrastructure Policy Committee of the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics produced its first summary document on the status of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s infrastructure. The committee has completed the first of what it hopes will be many updates of the primer.

By far the most significant development since 2009 began is the passage in February of the federal $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The updated primer covers the impact of ARRA in our region, discusses new developments in the various infrastructure sectors considered, and includes two new sections on electricity and telecommunications.

To provide feedback on the document, please submit to the Institute of Politics at (412) 624-1837 or iopadmin@pitt.edu.

More

Interior Launches Climate Strategy

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar launched the Obama administration's first coordinated response to the impacts of climate change Monday, which he said would both monitor how global warming is altering the nation's landscape and help the country cope with those changes. Salazar will lead a new "climate change response council" that will coordinate action among the department's eight bureaus and offices. A secretarial order will create eight "regional climate change response centers" in areas ranging from Alaska to the Northeast and build landscape conservation cooperatives that will create strategies for the eight regions with the help of state and local groups, and other federal agencies. Interior manages one-fifth of the nation's land mass and nearly 1.7 billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf.

'Intersex' Fish Found in Many Rivers

Federal researchers have found "intersex" fish -- with both male and female characteristics -- in rivers from the deep Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, indicating that a condition found in the Potomac River is more widespread than previously known. The largest-ever study looking for intersex characteristics, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, examined the Apalachicola, Colorado, Columbia, Mobile, Mississippi, Pee Dee, Rio Grande, Savannah and Yukon river basins. Among those, the Yukon was the only river in which no abnormal fish were found, the agency said Monday.

Kicking the “Short-Termism” Habit

Last week, the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program issued a blueprint for shifting from this system of “quick kills” and “short term gains” to more responsible financial stewardship focused on long-term value. The first remarkable aspect of the statement is its achievement of consensus amongst self-proclaimed “strange bedfellows” spanning the political spectrum. The Corporate Values Strategy Group (CVSG), convened in 2004 to draft the 2007 Aspen Principles on Long-Term Value Creation, spans from organized labor’s Richard Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer of AFL-CIO more conservative voices such as financial wizards John Bogle of Vanguard and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway.

“Sustainable Business Encyclopedia” Launches in U.S.

After a trial run in Canada earlier this year, the world's first online encyclopedia of sustainable business practices is now welcoming U.S. visitors and contributors. The website in question, "ethipedia.net", hosts a database of documented practices adopted by organizations seeking to incorporate greater social and environmental responsibility into their operations. With an initial store of over 80 case studies from around the world, this is the largest free reference of its kind.

World Bank Report Slams 'Inertia' in the Face of Climate Change

A major new World Bank report out today concludes that the world can fight poverty and climate change at the same time. But it won't be easy, and it won't be cheap. The biennial global economic assessment, which this year focuses exclusively on the threat of climate change, estimates that nations will need nearly $500 billion annually by 2030 to both develop clean energy technologies across the world and cope with natural disasters. Beyond the need for money, the "World Development Report 2010" calls on governments, research institutions and individuals to overcome a worldwide "inertia" that the authors argue has kept nations dependent on fossil fuel and too slow to muster the resources necessary to solve a problem many still see as distant.

Largest Group Ever of World Investors Calls for Strong Global Climate Change Treaty

Amid growing focus on upcoming international climate treaty talks and Congressional debate of climate and energy legislation, global investors meeting here issued a major policy statement calling for a strong and binding international treaty that will reduce pollution and catalyze massive global investments in low-carbon technologies. Signed by 181 investors collectively managing more than $13 trillion in assets, today’s investor statement is the largest of its kind on climate change in world history.

Local booster: Pittsburgh could become U.S. energy hub

The Pittsburgh region is well-positioned to become the nation's energy center, the head of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development said Tuesday. "With 700 companies locally engaged in the energy business, and our high amount of coal, natural gas and nuclear supply, the region is one of three areas in the nation that could qualify for that distinction," said Dennis Yablonsky, the conference's chief executive officer.

Flabeg readies first solar power mirror making facility in U.S., hiring up to 300

A $9 million grant from the state helped entice Flabeg to plant the $30 million project in the region. Last week PennFuture awarded the company's efforts with a Solar Leader Green Power Award. Flabeg is part of a growing solar-power related industry in Western PA that includes Solar Power Industries in Rostraver, makers of solar cells and panels, which recently announced plans to expand production in the former Sony plant in Westmoreland County. Climatically, the region may not have the sunshine of other regions, but it's perfectly positioned for manufacturing the industrial technology to do it, with the help of skilled labor coming from region's universities and technical schools and continued support from state and local governments.

Diversity and inclusion is the key to a prosperous regional workforce, study says

A new study released by Sustainable Pittsburgh makes a case for diversity and inclusion in the workforce as a way to achieve greater economic health in the region. In other words, if the region focuses on promoting diversity, helping African Americans to overcome systemic barriers to employment and generating demand for diverse employees, southwestern PA will build a thriving and prosperous global economy.

Have a Nice Day

Applied Materials is one of the most important U.S. companies you’ve probably never heard of. It makes the machines that make the microchips that go inside your computer. The chip business, though, is volatile, so in 2004 Mike Splinter, Applied Materials’s C.E.O., decided to add a new business line to take advantage of the company’s nanotechnology capabilities — making the machines that make solar panels. The other day, Splinter gave me a tour of the company’s Silicon Valley facility, culminating with a visit to its “war room,” where Applied maintains a real-time global interaction with all 14 solar panel factories it’s built around the world in the last two years. I could only laugh because crying would have been too embarrassing. Not a single one is in America. Let’s see: five are in Germany, four are in China, one is in Spain, one is in India, one is in Italy, one is in Taiwan and one is even in Abu Dhabi. I suggested a new company motto for Applied Materials’s solar business: “Invented here, sold there.” The reason that all these other countries are building solar-panel industries today is because most of their governments have put in place the three prerequisites for growing a renewable energy industry: 1) any business or homeowner can generate solar energy; 2) if they decide to do so, the power utility has to connect them to the grid; and 3) the utility has to buy the power for a predictable period at a price that is a no-brainer good deal for the family or business putting the solar panels on their rooftop.

Energy Efficiency Improvements To Waxman-Markey Could Create 569,000 Jobs

The new report, "Energy Efficiency in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009: Impacts of Current Provisions and Opportunities to Enhance the Legislation," underscores the energy efficiency potential - and accompanying benefits - still available as the Senate considers energy and climate legislation. In fact, the examined improvements would result in 48 percent more jobs and 32 percent more consumer savings than the 383,800 jobs and $215 in annual household savings in 2020 than the energy efficiency provisions of ACES, the original House bill, would provide.

Commute solution: Insurance for alternative transportation users?

The new RideSurance program is open to anybody who lives or works in Santa Cruz County and regularly commutes by bus, bike, walking or carpool. Under the program, participants get vouchers for a taxi, bus or rental car that can be used in the event of an emergency, up to $100 worth of rides a year.

For information on becoming a Member of Sustainable Pittsburgh, please visit our website.

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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 2009 from:

Bayer Corporation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Buhl Foundation
Dollar Bank
Falk Foundation
FedEx Ground
The Giant Eagle Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Dylan Todd Simonds Foundation
University of Pittsburgh
UPMC


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
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