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Events

Resources

Upcoming Sustainable Pittsburgh Event

Sustainability and Smart Growth Forum:

Wednesday, September 26
"GREENPRINT - A regional conservation agenda prioritizing land conservation for the public good"
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Davis Room, 23rd Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Ave., Downtown Pittsburgh

Bring a brown bag lunch -- beverages and dessert provided.
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or 412-258-6642

Allegheny Land Trust is developing the GREENPRINT to help to direct land conservation activities to address regional threats such as flooding, landslides, and loss of scenic character and biodiversity. Presented by Roy Kraynyk, Executive Director Allegheny Land Trust.
www.alleghenylandtrust.org

Sponsored by:

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Resources Continued

Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative -- Public Meetings Scheduled

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates in different City neighborhoods:
August 14, 15, and 16
September 4, 5, and 6
Time and Locations TBD
www.pittsburghclimate.org

The Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative is conducting public meetings in August and September to raise awareness about the consequences of global warming and to seek community comment on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Pittsburgh.

After the Storms: Introduction to Stormwater Management

Thursday, August 30
9:00 am - 3:00 pm (8:30 am registration and breakfast)
Fee: $25
Location: Pittsburgh Technical Institute, 1111 McKee Road, Oakdale, PA 15071
Free parking
Note: Registration ends 8/29!
More information

Stormwater management is typically a popular topic after the storms, when communities are cleaning up and recovering from the latest flood. This workshop is designed to give you the information on the latest developments and tools that can be used to address stormwater issues before the storms take their toll on your community. Many of the presenters are local officials who will share their experiences and successes dealing with this critical issue.

Socially Responsible Investing

September 6, 2007
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: The Pittsburgh Center for Complementary Health & Healing
1124 S. Braddock Ave Suite B (15218)
Sponsored by: UBS Financial Services, Ellen M. Marcus
To RSVP call 412-562-6781 or email diane.slepski@ubs.com

ADDITIONAL DATES:
September 12 - 5:30 pm- 6:30 pm Room "A"
October 16 - 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Room "C"
Location: The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Squirrel Hill Branch, 5801 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Sponsored by: UBS Financial Services, Ellen M. Marcus

Investors are making a difference by investing in socially and environmentally responsible companies. You are invited to attend an informal discussion and Q&A with Tim OLeary, Vice President, Calvert Funds. Refreshments will be served.

State of the Watershed 2007

September 7 and 8 (Friday and Saturday)
University of Pittsburgh, Frick Fine Arts Building, Oakland

Sept. 7, Presentation and Reception
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm (Doors open 6:30 pm)
Sept. 8, Presentation and Workshops
9:00 am -1:30 pm (Doors open at 8:30 a.m.; lunch included)
Ticket options: members (non-members)
Friday: $35 ($40); Saturday: $10 ($15); Friday & Saturday: $40 ($50)
For information or to purchase tickets, go to www.ninemilerun.org and click on State of the Watershed.

Learn about the environmental history of the Nine Mile Run Watershed with Congressman Mike Doyle and Joel Tarr, Author and Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University. Discover how Nine Mile Run has changed since its restoration, help create a vision for the Nine Mile Run Watershed’s future, and learn what you can do to be part of this process.

Pittsburgh Design Fair for House and Garden

Sunday, September 30
11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Grand Hall at The Priory (North Side)
Tickets: $5 in advance and $7 at the door
More

This one-day event features design resources for any and all homeowners in the region. Up to 50 local exhibitors in the categories of Gardens and Landscapes, Interiors, Home Remodeling & Renovation, and New Construction will be on hand to demonstrate their products or services, answer questions, and even sell some merchandise! The event is hosted by the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, and co-sponsored by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and WDUQ Radio. Booths are still available for purchase.

Resources

What Do You Want Pittsburgh to be Like in the Year 2050?

Elliance offers Pittsburgh2050.com as a medium to capture dreams and conversations, a way to give voice to change, and a place to begin creating the new Pittsburgh. What might the new Pittsburgh be like? You get the idea. And it’s your ideas Elliance wants.

Regional Insight: Too Many Towns Spoil the Economy

If you like government, the Pittsburgh region is the place to be. We have more than 1,000 separate governmental entities in the 10-county region: 10 counties, 286 cities and boroughs, 262 townships, 126 school districts, and 389 "special districts," i.e., water and sewer authorities, airport authorities, etc. More than 900 of these governmental units are in the seven-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA)...On a per capita basis, we're No. 1, with more governments per person than any other major region.

Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds

The vast majority of products that companies are sourcing sustainably are packaging materials and the raw materials used in manufacturing, with 29 percent and 24 percent of respondents purchasing those materials from sustainable sources. Two-thirds of the professionals in the survey said that they are practicing green procurement to support their companies' environmental or sustainability strategies, while 49 percent also said they're responding to customers' interest in eco-friendly products and services.

Vogue: "An Inconceivable Truth: The Link Between Infertility and the Environment"

The August issue of Vogue Magazine examines the environmental toxins and lifestyle factors that may cause infertility.

Safe Cleaning Products Initiative

Take Action Now! This petition urges cleaning companies to remove toxic chemicals from household cleaning products.

Wind Catchers

Changes in Pennsylvania's energy policies not only bode well for the environment, they also are helping to provide brighter economic futures for regions across the state.

Fairness as a Regional Goal

The debate about regionalism must transcend the question of who's in charge and consider something even more important: who benefits and how. This is especially true in Cleveland, nationally known for both poverty and for longstanding, deep and persistent racial divisions. The 50 recommendations in the report, commissioned by the Presidents' Council, titled "Regionalism: Growing Together to Expand Opportunity to All," describe how regional cooperation could benefit minorities and the poor. Many of the suggestions - curbing sprawl by imposing fees on development in Cleveland's outer suburbs, for instance - would be politically contentious. Still, as difficult as it will be to address the social inequities that plague this region, those issues should neither be ignored, nor tackled as mere afterthoughts. ..Local advocates of regionalism must build into the process an awareness that racial and social disparities hamper a region's productivity and competitiveness.

House Energy Bill to Boost Green Job Training

The Green Jobs Act of 2007 would authorize as much as $125 million a year for the national and state program to train workers in areas such as biofuel development, energy efficient buildings, renewable power, solar panel installation and energy efficient cars.

Sustainability Reporting More Common Among Top Global Brands

This comparison shows that companies that don’t release sustainability reports are in the minority. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) also noticed a correlation between high profitability and sustainability reporting. Figures showed 71 percent of the top 15 ranked global companies base their sustainability reports on GRI guidelines. More than 60 percent of these top 100 companies do the same. The GRI aims to have all organizations report on economic, environmental and social performance in the same way financial reporting is done. It developed the Sustainability Reporting Framework in a consensus-seeking process using a global network of business, civil society, labor and professional institutions.

Study: Region Must Face Divisions

Angela Glover Blackwell, one of the report's authors, said in a telephone interview that the country's most vibrant metropolitan areas promote fairness in housing, transportation, education and development. Older industrial cities can become magnets for growth if they adopt the same attitude, said Blackwell, the founder and head of PolicyLink, an Oakland, Calif.-based research institute dedicated to social and economic equity. Regions that resist will become "completely obsolete," she said. The report's tone echoes a stand taken by the Fund for Our Economic Future, an alliance of charities and philanthropists trying to revitalize Northeast Ohio. One of the group's goals is to create opportunities for minorities and the poor. "Racial and economic inclusion is not only good social policy, it's good economic policy," said Brad Whitehead, the fund's president. "We can't be leaving out any groups of people as we regionalize."

Region reaps benefits of trend toward ecotourism

Ecotourism -- which generally refers to low-impact visits to natural areas -- is the fastest-growing type of tourism, with an annual growth rate of about 5 percent, according to the International Ecotourism Society, based in Washington. As the industry explodes, Western Pennsylvania has positioned itself to reap the benefits.

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 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