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Events

Upcoming Sustainable Pittsburgh events and announcements!

May 21 - Green Workplace Challenge Workshop - Purchasing, Supply Chain, and Waste Reduction
Learn and get started with implementing strategic supply chain management to help your organization save money and gain partners through collaboration. Attend Part 1 or Part 1 & 2! Register today.

June 19 - Steel Valley Avenues Cash Mob
Steel Valley Avenues, the business district spanning the communities of Homestead, West Homestead, and Munhall, is a destination for shops and restaurants. A dozen businesses are recognized by Sustainable Pittsburgh for incorporating sustainable practices, which help contribute toward a thriving community. Join us for a "cash mob" to support these designated Sustainable Small Businesses. Additional details forthcoming.

Announcing a new Energy newsletter
Sustainable Pittsburgh is pleased to be launching "Energy Innovation", a periodic e-newsletter that will keep you up to speed on the latest energy trends to accelerate sustainable development for the Power of 32 region surrounding Pittsburgh (32 counties, 4 states, 1 energy future). Watch for EI in your inbox next week.

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Resources

Green Workplace Challenge Workshop #6: "Purchasing, Supply Chain, and Waste Reduction"

Thursday, May 21
8:00 am - 8:30 am (Registration)
8:30 am - 11:00 am (Discussion Session - Part 1)
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Workshop Session - Part 2)
Construction Junction, 214 North Lexington Street, Pittsburgh 15208
Breakfast Provided for Part 1; Lunch Provided for Part 2
More information and registration

It's time for Pittsburgh's leading organizations to tackle the issues of purchasing, supply chains, and waste as regional strategic issues. For this workshop, the Green Workplace Challenge is teaming up with BrownFlynn, a world leader in developing strategic corporate social responsibility and sustainability programs for organizations, Waste Management, and others to offer back-to-back sessions for GWC competitors to assess and address their supply chains and subsequent waste streams.

Featured Speakers
• Angelica Ciranni, Sustainability Analyst, The PNC Financial Services Group
• Ned Eldridge, CEO, eLoop, LLC
• Grant Ervin, Sustainability Manager, City of Pittsburgh
• Mike Gable, Executive Director, Construction Junction
• Kathleen Hrabovsky, Sustainability Manager, Allegheny County
• Erika Johnson, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse
• Mark Koeck, Bigbelly
• Cora Lee Mooney, Director of Learning and Senior Consultant, BrownFlynn
• Allison Robinson, Director, Environmental Initiatives, UPMC
• Brian Thurston, Waste Management Sustainability Services
• Mike Wallace, Managing Director, BrownFlynn and Former Director, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) North America
• Laura Zullo, Sr. Manager, Energy Initiatives, University of Pittsburgh

Who should attend?
All Green Workplace Challenge participants and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers, sustainability managers, business leaders and community leaders who are exploring their own sustainability initiatives and trying to find the most efficient and effective path forward for implementing a robust and credible program for purchasing, procurement, and waste streams.

Protecting Our Children's Health: How Does Our Environment Play a Role?

Tuesday, May 19
Carnegie Science Center, 1 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh 15212
More information and registration

Join Women for a Healthy Environment as Dr. Marya Zlatnik, MD, MMS speaks about the connections between environmental toxins and reproductive health. Dr. Zlatnik has a long-standing interest in environmental toxins and their effect on pregnancy. Topics to be covered during this workshop include: pesticides, plastics, hydraulic fracturing (fracking), just to name a few. Dr. Jennifer Adibi will discuss her latest research linking phthalates, hormone disrupting chemicals found in thousands of consumer products, to prenatal health. Attend and learn how to have a healthy pregnancy! This session is FREE thanks to our generous sponsors, but please register in advance!

Lecture: Transit as a Preservation and Development Tool

Tuesday, May 19
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Landmarks Preservation Resource Center, 744 Rebecca Avenue, Wilkinsburg 15221
Phone: (412) 471-5808
More information

Nationwide, people are driving less and taking more transit. It’s not a fluke – it’s now a 10-year-long trend. But, why? And, more importantly, what does it mean to the historic preservation movement and community development? This lecture will explore the huge shift in national transportation trends, their positive urban revitalization impacts, Pittsburgh-area development and the streetcar, its implications for our neighborhoods’ continual rebirth today, and how both everyone from DIY-ers and large-scale investors can identify and capitalize on quality transit assets.

Mapping the Future: The Southwestern PA Plan - public review period now open

Public Review Period:
Wednesday, May 13 and concluding on Friday, June 12 at 4:00pm

Upcoming Public Participation Panel meetings:
Wednesday, May 20 - Washington, PA
Tuesday, May 26 - Butler, PA
Wednesday, May 27 - Beaver, PA
Thursday, May 28 - Greensburg, PA
Thursday, May 28 - Kittanning, PA
Several more scheduled throughout the region. See below for details.
More information and registration

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is currently updating its long range plan to meet the needs of the region to the year 2040. The Southwestern PA Plan is the regional long range transportation and development plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania, and is the mechanism for connecting the Regional Vision to the region’s official, coordinated implementation program of projects and actions.

Starting Wednesday, May 13, 2015, and concluding on Friday, June 12th at 4:00pm, the Plan and its Companion Documents will be available for public review on the internet at www.spcregion.org, at offices of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, at the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, at County Planning offices, and at many public libraries around Southwestern Pennsylvania. Any questions can be directed to Matthew Pavlosky, Public Involvement/Outreach for SPC at (412) 391-5590 (x361) or mpavlosky@spcregion.org

View the SPC Public Notice for the Long Range Plan

Green Business Certificate Series

May 27, June 3, June 10
Each course from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Duquesne University, Rockwell Hall, Room 505
Cost: $30 per course or register for all three at $75
Contact: Center for Green Industries at duqgreen@duq.edu or (412) 396-5725.
More information and registration

Learn how your business can grow its profits, reduce its footprint and and attract new business with the Duquesne University Center for Green Industries and Sustainable Business Growth. This three part Green Business Certificate Series is meant for small-medium business owners, and entrepreneurs, looking to boost their bottom line and enter new markets through green and sustainable strategies. Light breakfast will be served at each session and upon completing at least 2 of the courses, attendees will receive a Duquesne University Green Business Certificate.

May 27 - Green Business Strategies
June 3 - Green Market Essentials
June 10 - Financing Green Growth

Land Use, Zoning, and Addressing Impacts of Shale Gas Drilling After the PA Supreme Court Act 13 Rulings

Thursday, June 4
9:00 am - 3:00 pm (Registration at 8:30 am)
Yost Auditorium, Burnett Center on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Registration: $50 (Includes lunch). Michael P. Lynch Scholarship Fund (MPLSF) communities are eligible for a 50-percent discount for this event.
AICPA members may earn 4 CM credits for this course. 
More information and registration

Local Government Academy, in partnership with Washington & Jefferson College's Center for Energy Policy and Management, and sponsored by W&J's Shale Gas Knowledge Hub, is presenting, “Land Use, Zoning, and Addressing Impacts of Shale Gas Drilling After the PA Supreme Court Act 13 Rulings - A day of discussion and analysis for municipal officials and employees," as part of the Academy's Managing Marcellus series.

Attend this program to look at the various zoning and community development issues facing local communities, including issues of planning and regulation, community impacts, property rights and interactions with other regulators such as DEP. Panels of planners and lawyers experienced in local government and shale gas issues will present analysis of the situation, consider possible community objectives, and review a range of responses available for communities based on actual experience. Additionally, local communities will be provided the opportunity to engage in facilitated discussion regarding the circumstances in their local communities.

Speakers include:
David Ball, Peters Township
Alan Cohen, Cohen Municipal Planning Consultants
Denny Puko, PA DCED Governor’s Center for Local Government Services
John Smith, Smith Butz
John Trant, Strategic Solutions LLC
Diana Stares, W&J Center for Energy Policy and Management

Resources

Worthington farmers to 'mentor' program

“The slow food movement is happening fast,” said Court Gould, executive director of the nonprofit Sustainable Pittsburgh. His organization is in the process of creating a sustainable restaurant performance program, which the public can consult to know what restaurants are using local produce and other information.

More

EPA Launches New Portal to Help Communities Improve Environmental Quality and Public Health

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new Community Resources website to help local officials and community members find information for improving the environment, public health and quality of life. The site leverages information from three existing community-oriented resources:

- The Local Government Environmental Assistance Network, managed in partnership with the International City / County Management Association, provides information on environmental compliance and stewardship.
- The National Resource Network, established by HUD as part of the Obama Administration’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative, offers practical solutions to help communities pursue economic development and growth.
- The EPA Community Health site can help users learn about and improve local environmental health conditions.

Access to the Community Resources site is available via EPA’s homepage or via this link: www.epa.gov/communities

Article 89 gives Boston a new lease on urban agriculture.

The seed that would become Article 89 began germinating five years ago, when a farmer wished to put vacant city lots to use for food production, but couldn’t secure a permit to do so. So he went to the Mayor’s Office. That farmer was Glynn Lloyd—founder and CEO of City Fresh Foods, City Growers, and the Urban Farming Institute—and he is greatly responsible for getting the article off the ground and into the garden.

. . . “Article 89 makes it possible to locate in the city, close to our market and the distribution system,” says Shawn Cooney, owner of Corner Stalk—a shipping container farm in East Boston. “Without farm zoning we would have been forced out of the city to more rural suburbs…not a bad option, but it does not address the city’s need to use some of the underutilized and distressed properties in the city, and [it does] not allow us to easily access the city labor pool.”

Pittsburgh near bottom in U.S. diversity ranking

Pittsburgh is one of the least diverse places in the U.S., according to a new study of 200-plus cities that considered factors such as the types of jobs and industries as well as race and ethnicity. The city ranked 227th out of 230 in the study released Wednesday by WalletHub, a Web-based firm in Washington, D.C., that offers personal finance advice and research.

New analysis examines the fiscal implications of development patterns in West Des Moines, IA

’case, the walkable urban scenario would generate an estimated total annual net fiscal impact of $11.2 million — $3.7 million more than the low density scenario. This estimate is conservative, and the benefit to the city could be even greater. Read the full findings in Fiscal Implications of Development Patterns: West Des Moines, IA.

Forum: New evidence demands action on fields using rubber tires

How should the public react to new studies showing that carbon black nanoparticles in rubber tires could be as dangerous as asbestos? These are the same rubber tires that are shredded and placed in toddler playgrounds and synthetic turf fields.

A new study led by the Queen’s Medical Research Institute at the University of Edinburg/MRC Center for Inflammation Research in Scotland showed that long, needle-thin carbon nanotubes can lead to lung cancer. Their research reported that these carbon nanotubes could be as harmful as breathing asbestos.

Allegheny County Health Department Launches Web Tools to Help Understand the County's Health

"Our Health, Our Voice" is the ongoing theme of the Health Department's public outreach campaign to share key information and statistical data about our population’s health and well being. As a prerequisite for public health accreditation, the Community Health Assessment (CHA) is the first of its kind for ACHD. The CHA is a comprehensive document that examines factors affecting our residents' health.

Also, in an effort to be more data-driven, accurate and effective, the Health Department has contracted with the Healthy Communities Institute (HCI), to provide "Allegheny Community Indicators" (ACI), an interactive page that enables users to gather information on the state of Allegheny County’s health.ACI Demo Video The ACI is an interactive set of public health indicators that demonstrates how Allegheny County compares to state and national health data. It allows users to compare the health of our municipalities, and is your source for reliable, current and consistent community health and population data.

Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood chosen for EcoDistrict plan, study

In 2014, EcoDistricts, an organization in Portland, Ore., chose Uptown among eight neighborhoods nationwide to be an EcoDistrict incubator, with training and support for its emerging plans. The Uptown Eco-Innovation District team, contractors and the public will build a plan integrating transportation, the environment, energy consumption and community identity into future housing and commercial development, said Jeanne McNutt, executive director of Uptown Partners and a member of the team.

Sustain Los Angeles

- Los Angeles Economy Operating at Unsafe Level for People and the Planet
- New Report Provides Tools for Local Government to Take Action

Communities in Los Angeles County have a new set of tools for land use decisions and development policies that decrease greenhouse gas emissions and improve workers' wages. A report by the Economic Roundtable, Industry Greenhouse Gas and Wage Sustainability released on Mother's Day in honor of Mother Earth, identifies the climate change effects as well as the wage sustainability of jobs in each industry.

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 ($1,000 and up) in 2015 from:

Alcoa Foundation
Bayer USA Foundation
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
BNY Mellon
The Heinz Endowments
Elsie H. Hillman Foundation
Henry L. Hillman Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Pashek Associates, LTD
PITT OHIO
The PNC Financial Services Group
UPMC


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
307 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1500
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
E-mail SP