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Events

Resources

New SWPA Sustainability Indicators launched at regional Smart Growth Conference

PittsburghTODAY launched its much anticipated Sustainability Indicators during this past Tuesday’s 11th annual Smart Growth Conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The indicators help to measure the region’s progress and offer insight to the region’s embrace of sustainability.

Sustainable Pittsburgh contracted PittsburghTODAY to create this new category. Currently it includes such indicators as air quality, housing vacancy, daily vehicle miles travelled, traffic congestion and others. The list will continue to be expanded over time.

Close to 300 individuals attended the December 13 Smart Growth Conference, entitled “Smart Growth is Smart Business.” Participants learned about Innovative Financing solutions for urban real estate, housing, and metropolitan infrastructure, heard first hand how Green Infrastructure investments result in cost savings and business opportunities, and they saw real life examples of how blighted properties were transformed into valuable real estate and the related challenges and opportunities experienced in such projects. Overall the emphasis was on specific opportunities and next step action items around which the business community can rally to effectuate positive change.

The conference was sponsored by the PNC Financial Services Group (Gold level) and Bakery Square, Bombardier, and HDR (Silver level). Essential Public Radio served as the event’s media sponsor. The conference was presented by Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Green Building Alliance, NAIOP Pittsburgh Chapter, Pittsburgh Technology Council, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Sustainable Pittsburgh, and the Urban Land Institute Pittsburgh District Council.

An event summary and speaker slides are forthcoming on the conference web page. In the meantime, be sure to visit www.pittsburghtoday.org to review the latest sustainability indicators. Also, please see the news articles related to the conference to the right under our "Resources" section:

Former HUD chief Cisneros advises Pittsburgh to think young

Smart Growth conference is smart business move

Smart Growth conference to focus on sustainability

Resources Continued

SAVE THE DATE! Green Workplace Challenge mid-year celebration

January 27
Details TBA

As part of its monthly workshop series, Green Workplace Challenge organizers are hosting a leader celebration, including a keynote speaker, competitor panel, and update on the Green Workplace Challenge’s impact.

Sustainable Development Academy: Save the Dates!

Webinar on Woodsmoke Regulations
January 25, 2012
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Webinar on Idling Laws
February 15, 2012
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Recycling Renaissance
March 15, 2012
8:00 am – Noon
Cranberry Municipal Building

The Sustainable Development Academy is a partnership between Local Government Academy and Sustainable Pittsburgh. The Webinars will be presented by GASP and Recycling Renaissance will be presented by the Pennsylvania Resources Council. Program descriptions are forthcoming.

11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth:
Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities

February 2-4, 2012
San Diego, CA
For more details about the program and tours or to register: NewPartners.org

Join leaders from across the U.S. in tackling the tough economic, environmental and social challenges of today and demonstrate smart growth solutions that support strong economies, reduce US dependence on foreign oil, assure a healthy population, foster more equitable development, and expand transportation and housing options for all Americans.

Learn more about the latest in smart growth, including the latest research, cutting-edge implementation tools and techniques, best practices, model projects, policies and codes, and new partners. Most importantly, this dynamic event offers you the opportunity to network and coordinate with your peers as well as practitioners from many different disciplines.

Reed Smith Spring 2012 Lecture Series: Upcoming lectures

Wednesday, January 25
The Supplemental Poverty Measure
Kathleen Short, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, United States Census Bureau

Wednesday, February 22
Inequality and the American City: Implications of the Neighborhood Effect
Robert Sampson, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences; Director of the Social Sciences Program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Lectures are from noon to 1:30 pm in the School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning, at the University of Pittsburgh. More information will be available at www.crsp.pitt.edu

Resources

Former HUD chief Cisneros advises Pittsburgh to think young

The city of Pittsburgh should think young, according to Henry Cisneros, a former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and now executive chairman of Cityview, a Texas-based real estate investment and development firm. "That's one of the challenges facing the city," said Cisneros, but that wasn't the only challenge expressed at the 11th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference, held in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. Other challenges include encouraging city residents to work to benefit not just their own neighborhoods but adjoining areas as well as the entire city, and having the city's public leadership work to resolve existing stormwater problems that cause flooding and other damage.

Smart Growth conference is smart business move

The conference features sessions on innovative finance, blight and abandonment, green infrastructure and the indicators of smart growth. Former Clinton cabinet member Henry Cisneros, head of the CityView institutional investment firm, and Robert Lang, a Fellow of the Urban Land Institute, lead a lengthy list of presenters. To be smart about growth, businesses need to realize that even multi-national corporations are still local to someone. “How that [local] community operates is going to affect their labor force, resourcing of materials, tax climate and regulatory climate,” says [Brian] Jensen, who also heads the Pennsylvania Economy League of Southwestern Pennsylvania. “The geographical climate they work in will affect their operability and ultimately their profitability.”

More

Smart Growth conference to focus on sustainability

"While the economy has changed dramatically, smart business is today -- as it always has been -- about keeping operating costs predictable and manageable, maintaining a dependable and skilled workforce and securing easy and affordable access to stable (if not growing) markets," [Brian Jensen, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Economy League] wrote. "As businesses invest in the sustainability of communities they help hold down the costs of government by growing the tax base and influencing policy decisions for wise capital expenditures and efficient delivery of public services" . . . Bill Flanagan, Allegheny Conference executive vice president, said the idea of smart growth is imperative to the organization's plans to revitalize communities and groups that haven't benefitted from growth the region has seen over the past two decades . . . "We're trying to create more seats at regional decision-making tables to allow our businesses to focus on ways in which quality of life, sustainable development and helping the regional economy equate to business opportunities," [Court Gould, Executive Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh] said.

Course on local government helps new leaders lead

Candidates run for office, touting their knowledge, experience and qualifications. When elected, however, they often discover they have a lot to learn. . . Through the Local Government Academy's Newly Elected Officials Course, these rising local leaders are learning how to best serve their counties, municipalities, townships and boroughs in a series of classes on key topics. "This isn't a course that makes you an expert," academy executive director Susan Hockenberry said. "This takes you from not knowing what's going on to knowing what you don't know and empowering you to get some answers."

A World Where "Business As Usual" Wrecks The Planet, Companies That Do Good Will Win Financially

My message is a simple one: business as usual isn't working. In fact, it's 'business as usual' that's wrecking our planet. Resources are being used up; the air, the sea, the land--are all heavily polluted. The poor are getting poorer. Many are dying of starvation or because they can't afford a dollar a day for life-saving medicine. We have to fix it--and fast. Even people who say they don't believe in climate change, or who simply don't care about pollution, poverty and war--out of sight for them is out of mind--admit that people everywhere are mucking up things.

Three of dirtiest coal-fired plants in Western Pa., report finds

Three of the 10 dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the nation are located in Western Pennsylvania, according to a new report that also ranks the state first overall in emissions of toxic air pollutants like arsenic, chromium, hydrochloric acid, lead and mercury. The report ranked Genon's Shawville Power Plant in Clearfield County third dirtiest in the nation, followed by EME's Homer City Power Plant in Indiana County (seventh) and FirstEnergy's Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Beaver County (ninth). Pennsylvania leads the nation in emissions of lead and arsenic, and has increased its arsenic emissions over the last decade, from 15,861 pounds in 2001 to 17,666 pounds in 2010

Graham Hill: Less Stuff, More Happiness

The project starts with [a] 420 square-foot New York City apartment. We wanted to show that people could have what we call "the luxury of less" -- that we could have everything we need, and that our lives and planet will be happier, healthier and more beautiful using less stuff and space. The winning design was submitted by two Romanian architecture students named Catalin Sandu and Adrian Iancu. Their elegant design, entitled "One Size Fits All," met all of Graham's requirements and brought purpose and intention to every square foot. 200 years of industrialization has brought us to a point where we can produce products, services and information at an overwhelming rate. The story of our civilization in 2012 is like one big, rough draft. It is a great story, whose meaning is often obscured by unimportant and unnecessary stuff. 2012 is the time to edit. We edit for the sake of the planet, for the sake of our pocketbooks, for the sake of our happiness.

Powerful Pipes, Weak Oversight

In Pennsylvania's shale fields, where the giant Marcellus strike has unleashed a furious surge of development, many natural gas pipelines today get less safety regulation than in any other state in America, an Inquirer review shows. Hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines already have been installed in the shale fields with no government safety checks - no construction standards, no inspections, and no monitoring. . . But thus far, no one in the PUC or PHMSA has kept track of what gathering pipelines have been built in the shale fields, or where they are going. "We have no idea," said Paul Metro, the PUC's top pipeline-safety regulator.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Dummies – Just Cycle More Often:
New Study Investigates Potential of Cycling to Reduce Emissions

An interesting take on the subject is revealed by a recent study authored by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), which has quantified emissions savings of cycling compared with other modes of transport. Even taking into account the production, maintenance and fuel [food] related to bicycle use, emissions from cycling were over 10 times lower than those stemming from the passenger car...

A Manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, when the United States was preparing its visionary plan for nurturing democratic capitalism abroad, Gen. Omar Bradley said, "It is time to steer by the stars, and not by the lights of each passing ship." Today, more than 60 years later, that means abandoning short-term economic thinking for "sustainable capitalism." We are once again facing one of those rare turning points in history when dangerous challenges and limitless opportunities cry out for clear, long-term thinking. The disruptive threats now facing the planet are extraordinary: climate change, water scarcity, poverty, disease, growing income inequality, urbanization, massive economic volatility and more. Businesses cannot be asked to do the job of governments, but companies and investors will ultimately mobilize most of the capital needed to overcome the unprecedented challenges we now face.

LEED-Certified Building Retrofits Surpass New Construction

LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. As of December 2011, square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million sq. ft. on a cumulative basis. "The U.S. is home to more than 60 billion square feet of existing commercial buildings, and we know that most of those buildings are energy guzzlers and water sieves," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. "Greening these buildings takes hands-on work, creating precious jobs especially for construction workers. Making these existing buildings energy and water efficient has an enormous positive impact on the building's cost of operations. And the indoor air quality improvements that go with less toxic cleaning solutions and better filtration create healthier places to live, work and learn."

The Evolution of the Sustainability Professional

It used to be whenever a group of sustainability professionals got together, we'd debate for a few minutes about whether our job was to work ourselves out of a job. Now, it's a question I get asked whenever I'm interviewed about my role. And I admit, my view has changed in the last 3+ years.

For a short while, I thought that's exactly what I was supposed to do. After all, my mission is to embed principles of sustainability into our strategy, our operations, and our culture. That would imply that at some point I'll be "done."

But I know better now. If "sustainability" is about deliberate decision-making to shape our future, then the only thing that would end the job would be to stop having a future. And let's not go there…

New Markets Tax Credit Coalition - Extension Campaign

Through 2010, NMTC has financed over $20 billion in loans and equity investments to businesses located in communities with substantial rates of poverty and unemployment. These businesses include commercial and industrial facilities, healthcare centers and charter schools, and a variety of small businesses. The result: increased job and business opportunities, improved facilities and services and strengthened local economies. Unless Congress votes to extend NMTC it will expire on December 31, 2011.

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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 ($1,000 and up) in 2011 from:

Alcoa Foundation
Allegheny County - Dan Onorato, County Executive
Bayer Corporation
Bayer USA Foundation
Buhl Foundation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
BNY Mellon
Dollar Bank
FedEx Ground
The Heinz Endowments
Highmark
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Pashek Associates LTD
Pittsburgh Quarterly
PNC Financial Services Group
Port Authority of Allegheny County
UPMC


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