Giving Tuesday
2021-11-30 00:00 - 23:59 (America/New_York)
A day that celebrates generosity locally and around the world, Giving Tuesday is a great day to make an impact on Sustainable Pittsburgh and help create a more equitable, resilient, healthy, and prosperous region.
Donate to Sustainable Pittsburgh on November 30 and your support will go even further! Current and former board members at Sustainable Pittsburgh got together to create a Giving Tuesday matching fund. All gifts up to $3,153 will be matched dollar for dollar. Double your gift on #GivingTuesday!
https://staging.sustainablepittsburgh.org/donate/

Tracking and Measuring Sustainability Progress
2021-12-08 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
After nearly two years dedicated to building a custom technology platform designed to help you access resources and advance sustainability progress, Sustainable Pittsburgh is kicking off its new and enhanced performance programs. Join us as we share the benefits of earning Sustainable Pittsburgh designation and Sustainable Pennsylvania Certification, hear from organizations about their experiences with the programs, and see how to get started.
Learn about innovations of the refreshed Sustainable Pittsburgh Shop and Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant programs, as well as the Sustainable Pennsylvania Certification, which is offered in partnership with the Pennsylvania Municipal League. And find out about the new Sustainable Pittsburgh Workplace program and friendly-competition Sprints — a high-impact, materiality-based reinvention of the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge.
Whether you are just getting started, or are well on your way to becoming a sustainability leader, join us as we champion those who implement actions to support vibrant communities, equitable workplaces, and a healthy environment in the Pittsburgh region and across the Commonwealth.

Who should attend:

Managers and practitioners at organizations of all types and sizes — whether businesses, nonprofits, institutions, or higher education
Municipal managers, elected officials, and administrative staff
Anyone with an interest in advancing sustainability / environmental, social, and governance progress at their organization or in their community

Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit Town Hall
2021-12-09 18:00 - 20:30
Presented by: Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit
Please join us for the Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit 2022 season pre-event, the Summit Town Hall, which will be focusing on disability and environmental justice and the intersections of race. This will be a panel style event featuring people steeped in community and educational work around these important topics that we often don’t talk about with the intersections of blackness and race overall. With lived experience our panelists will talk about their place within these movements, and educate alongside each other, and alongside our communities.
Please join us for this learning opportunity, which we hope will honor our speakers and our community voices, loud and clear, as these issues affect all us and particularly the Black community.

Ready to Run Pennsylvania Campaign Training for Women
2022-01-21 08:00 - 2022-02-09 17:00 | Virtual
Presented by: Chatham University
Ready to Run™ Pennsylvania provides non-partisan political training to encourage women to run for government leadership positions. The day-long program targets women considering or recently deciding to run for political office, providing training and mentoring by campaign professionals, political women, and officeholders. Ready to Run Pennsylvania is also a great resource for women who want to work on a campaign or get more involved in political life.

Plastic On Campus: Local efforts to reduce single-use plastic at colleges and universities
2022-01-23 16:30 - 18:00 | Virtual
Provided by: PASUP
Learn what folks on local campuses are doing to reduce single use plastics!

Florence Gibbs Momeyer Endowed Lecture featuring Haben Girma
2022-02-02 16:30 - 18:00 | Virtual
Provided by: The University of Pittsburgh, Center on Race and Social Problems

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Center on Race and Social Problems and join us for the Florence Gibbs Momeyer Endowed Lecture featuring Haben Girma.

INTERSECT@CMU: Innovating a Sustainable Future for All
2022-02-10 08:00 - 2022-02-11 17:00
Presented by: CMU
Each year, INTERSECT@CMU brings together CMU thought leaders, industry partners and experts from around the world to discuss society’s most pressing problems and present potential solutions to innovate a sustainable future for all.
At this year’s conference, we will focus on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the actions we must take to ensure that the next generation will live on a more sustainable planet.

General Composting 101 workshop
2022-02-17 18:00 - 19:30 | Virtual
Creating and adding compost to the soil is one of the foundational aspects of organic gardening. Most food crops require fertile, well-drained soil, and the best way to reach both of these goals is to add compost! Interested in creating your own backyard compost but not sure where to begin? Join Grow Pittsburgh for a webinar to cover the basics you need to get started.
Register Here

The Manufacturing Works Summit
2022-02-23 08:00 - 15:30 | Shenley Plaza, 4100 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
Coordinated by: Catalyst Connection
The Manufacturing Works Summit is the premier and only regional conference focused on the solutions for manufacturing talent in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The first annual conference, coordinated by Catalyst Connection, is focused on making SWPA a national model for collaboration while supporting the local economy through the strength of the manufacturing sector.
Attendees will learn industry best practices on the topics of:

Talent Attraction
Hiring
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Employee Retainment
And More!

Register Here

Virtual Distinguished Lecture: Accelerating Our Path to a Carbon Negative Society
2022-03-02 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University for a Distinguished Lecture featuring Shashank Samala.
The lecture and discussion will focus on the engineering and robotics challenges behind scaling a direct carbon capture technology.
Shashank Samala is CEO at Heirloom, a company whose goal is to remove carbon dioxide out of the air at a gigaton scale by 2035 to help reverse climate change. He grew up in southeast India where he saw first-hand impacts of climate change on some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Shashank was previously Entrepreneur in Residence at Carbon180, a leading climate policy NGO working solely on atmospheric carbon removal, and a founder at Tempo Automation, a soon to be public company that raised >$400M from leading investors and builds mission critical electronics for robotics, satellites, reusable rockets, and more. Shashank previously worked in Marketing at Square and attended Cornell University.
This event is free and open to the public.
Registration closes one hour prior to the virtual event.
Note: This is a virtual event. A Zoom Webinar link will be sent closer to the event to your registered email address.

Embodied Carbon: Why It Matters for Your Carbon-Reduction Strategy
2022-03-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Presented by Sustainable Pittsburgh and CEOs for Sustainability
You have a handle on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with your organization’s operations, and maybe you’ve even inventoried them as a basis for your carbon-reduction strategy. But what about emissions generated over the life cycle of the buildings you operate from? How about emissions generated over the entire life cycle of your products?
According to Architecture 2030, embodied carbon will account for almost half of total new construction emissions between now and 2050. That makes for an incredible opportunity to reduce the emissions associated with buildings, from the extraction, manufacture, and selection of the building materials through construction processes to occupancy. Suppliers of building materials have reduced their carbon emissions and achieved market advantage through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), attesting to their low-carbon designs. Following this strategy, manufacturers from other sectors are evaluating ways to reduce embodied carbon. Brands as diverse as Logitech, Dove soap, Lipton teas, and Adidas are moving toward carbon footprint labels on their products. What are the opportunities for your organization?

8th Annual PA Renewables Summit 2022
2022-03-14 00:00 - 2022-03-15 23:59 | Shenley Plaza, 4100 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
Join the Renewables Work for PA (RW4PA) coalition, the PA Solar & Storage Industries Association (PASSIA), and the Mid-Atlantic Renewables Energy Coalition (MAREC Action) for the 8th Annual Renewables Summit and Advocacy Day in the PA State Capitol. The summit brings together industry professionals, NGOs, and decision-makers to discuss important issues to the Pennsylvania renewables market. The event is also a great networking opportunity.

Bridge to 2030: Embodied Carbon and Existing Buildings
2022-03-15 08:30 - 10:30 | Frick Environmental Center
Provided by: GBA
Embodied carbon consists of all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with building construction, including those that arise from extracting, transporting, manufacturing, and installing building materials on site, as well as the operational and end-of-life emissions associated with those materials. While operational carbon and energy use reductions are critical to reducing impacts of the built environment, project teams, owners and operators must also consider the impacts of a building’s embodied carbon.
This topic has been on the minds of green building industry stakeholders for years, and while it remains abstract or mysterious to some, interest continues to grow as it becomes more tangible to more people – and as it becomes a larger portion of our buildings’ overall impacts. In an interview about coming trends in the green building industry in early 2021, GBA member Pete Jefferson listed embodied carbon as one to watch, as the conversation has been evolving rapidly.
At this event, we will explore what embodied carbon is, how it relates to operational carbon, what it means for existing buildings, and how building operators can take advantage of retrofit opportunities to maintain low embodied carbon throughout the life of their buildings. Our speakers represent local expertise related to products and materials, sustainable building standards, building science, and operations.

Preparing Your Community for Solar Development: the SolSmart Program and Technical Assistance
2022-03-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Provided by: Water Resources Center
Local governments have tremendous influence over the prospects for, and shape of, solar energy growth. The solar industry is a leading source of American job creation and attracting solar investment in your community is a great way to promote economic development and new jobs. Solar resources are inherently local and can benefit the community directly as energy sources. However, solar development – from the rooftop to the solar farm – presents both opportunity and risk to the community. Many communities are poorly equipped to navigate the issues of local solar development. The national SolSmart program (funded by the U.S. Department of Energy) offers free technical assistance to communities for navigating risks and capturing opportunities as the solar industry ramps up. This workshop will describe the burgeoning market for solar energy and solar development, the components of ensuring your community is “solar-ready” to both capture benefits and minimize risks, and the solar-ready certification process and technical assistance opportunities. Water quality and watershed issues will be addressed.

Environmental Racism and the Climate Crisis
2022-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join the YWCA for their Action Conversation: Environmental Racism and the Climate Crisis
Low-income women in communities of color are disproportionately burdened by environmental problems, including the extreme weather caused by climate change. We must act together now to enact policies that address the climate crisis and its ongoing connection to indigenous injustice, racism, and gender inequality.
Participants can register for this Action Conversations via Zoom, at the link below, or join through Facebook Live.

Large-scale Solar Development: Water Quality Risk, or Green Infrastructure? The PV-SMaRT Project
2022-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Provided by: Water Resource Center
Solar energy is now the least expensive form of electric energy generation in world. Consequently, the market for solar energy projects is surging, with large-scale projects being proposed in every state in the nation. Large-scale PV solar projects, in particular, present unique and uncertain risks and opportunities to water quality and watershed functions. The U.S. Department of Energy funded the Photovoltaic Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PV-SMaRT) project to evaluate water quality impacts of large-scale solar development. The study will create solar-specific runoff coefficients that consider type of ground cover, soil type, hydrology, slope, and solar array design based on field testing across the nation and 3-D modeling. The project will also engage permit jurisdictions (authorities having jurisdiction, AHJs), from local to federal, to disseminate the findings and identify permitting best practices to make permitting transparent and predictable and improve water quality outcomes in our nation’s surface waters. One potential implication of the study is understanding the conditions under which conversion of agricultural or disturbed land to solar development with appropriate ground cover could meet green infrastructure goals of improving water quality outcomes within impaired watersheds.

Earth Day Extravaganza
2022-04-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Join the Center for Creative Reuse this Earth Day for a virtual extravaganza celebrating art and the environment.

Learn about Earth Day! We will share some facts about Earth Day and tidbits of its history.
Learn about Creative Reuse! We will also be sharing the story of our organization, as well as information about the concept of Creative Reuse.
Hear from amazing artists! Enjoy two artist-talks with local reuse artists Naomi Chambers and Brad Bianchi and learn about their work, processes, and the materials they use.
Make Art! You can opt to add a project kit to your ticket purchase, which will include an array of plastic objects to create a unique piece of reuse art. There will be dedicated making time towards the end of the event.

Tapping Opportunities in the Circular Economy
2022-04-27 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual
Provided by: Sustainable Pittsburgh and CEOs for Sustainability
The world consumed record high levels of virgin materials in 2021, even as reuse and recycling rates remain stagnant. In addition to polluting our air, soil, and waterways, the throwaway economy deepens social inequity through low wages and environmental costs borne mostly by marginalized communities. The opportunity goes far beyond reuse, repair, and recycling. By transitioning to a circular economy, manufacturers and communities can build upstream, regenerative solutions that engage the human-powered efforts that often already exist and bring new innovations to scale.
Join us as presenters describe how they are creating circular economies that provide dignified work, turn waste into feedstocks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, bolster the supply chain, stimulate innovation, and benefit the bottom line. Learn about circular economy opportunities and practical considerations.

DISCOVER x UNTITLED OPEN TALKS
2022-04-28 11:30 - 12:30 | Virtual
Provided by UNTITLED
This talk will feature Democratic Society (Demsoc), a non-profit based in Brussels with offices across Europe. Demsoc works to create a democracy that works for everyone. This includes democratizing climate action and involving people in the transition to a just, resilient climate future. Because Climate Action enables us a future and Democracy allows it to be a future for all. Their Climate Programme has been working with over 14 cities across Europe, collaborating with governments at all levels, citizen-led initiatives, funders, researchers, and other nonprofits to achieve climate resilience through democratic means, what DemSoc terms ‘climate democracy’. This talk will highlight DemSoc’s fresh findings on working with change-hesitant cities. Hesitancy or resistance must be only part of the journey, not the end, and it is important to find ways to mobilize action even in settings that are hesitant to act. In such settings, Strategies for a Networked Approach can catalyze and sustain ongoing shifts toward climate democracy.

PA Solar Center Solar Soiree
2022-04-28 17:30 - 20:30 | Energy Innovation Center, 1435 Bedford Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
Provided by: PA Solar Center
Join the PA Solar Center for their first fundraiser in a luminous evening filled with music, inspirational speakers, fun, and friends as they celebrate their successes over the past few years and look to the future of expanding clean energy across the state.

Forging the Future for Energy Efficiency
2022-05-11 08:00 - 2022-05-12 17:00 | Philadelphia Navy Yard
Presented by: KEEA
Forging the Future for Energy Efficiency is back! Join us Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12 for two full days of energy efficiency programming. Learn, network, and re-connect at our first in-person event of 2022.

Forging the Future for Energy Efficiency
2022-05-11 08:00 - 2022-05-12 17:00 | Philadelphia Navy Yard
11th Annual Policy Conference provided by KEEA

Redefining Equity, Equality, and Justice in Community Development
2022-05-16 08:00 - 2022-05-17 17:00
Provided by: Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group
12th Annual Community Development Summit. Details to follow.

Climate Change: The Cost of Inaction
2022-05-19 15:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Provided by: E2
Climate change is now a serious economic issue. Last year, climate-related disasters inflicted nearly $150 billion in damage to America’s economy. In Pennsylvania alone, climate disasters led by Hurricane Ida cost the Commonwealth between $2 billion – $5 billion, according to NOAA. And that’s not including
rising insurance rates, increased food costs from flooding and drought, lost worker productivity and other expenses that are hitting businesses in the balance sheet and every Pennsylvanian in the pocketbook. The good news is that we can blunt the growing cost of climate change while simultaneously creating
jobs, driving new economic growth and attracting new investments through smart climate and clean energy policies now being considered in Harrisburg and Washington, DC. Please join fellow business leaders, policymakers and E2 to learn more and help create a brighter, more prosperous Pennsylvania.

PITTSBURGH 2030 DISTRICT PROGRESS REPORT RECEPTION
2022-05-24 16:30 - 19:30 | The National Aviary, 700 Arch Street, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Presented by: Green Building Alliance.
Join GBA’s 2030 District team for the return of our in-person celebration of property partners in the Pittsburgh 2030 District!

Metrics that Matter: Evaluating Green Stormwater Infrastructure Performance
2022-05-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Provided by: Water Resources Center
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is being implemented with greater and greater frequency throughout the country in order to meet water quality goals, enhance our communities, improve climate change resiliency, and even reduce costs. It is considered an important tool for communities addressing source reduction, particularly under the recent municipal consent orders distributed to communities by the Allegheny County Health Department and PA Department of Environmental Protection. But how do owners and/or operators know if the GSI is doing what it was designed to do? During this session, stormwater program managers, governments, community organizations, and even design professionals will learn methods for assessing the effectiveness of GSI and the complexities and compromises that should be considered when performing an assessment of installed GSI practices. To that end, this presentation will explore the “metrics that matter” for every stage of a GSI project, from initial site planning to design methodologies to construction phase evaluations and ultimately to postconstruction performance monitoring. The goal is to provide municipal and design communities with a practical framework of the available and emerging resources and tools necessary to deliver GSI projects that will pass the test of time, especially in an increasingly complex social environment and in a changing climate.

2022 Nature of Place Symposium, "The Voice of Change"
2022-06-15 12:00 - 2022-06-17 13:30 | Virtual
Provided by: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
This year, our symposium theme is “metamorphosis.” One of the largest obstacles in our human response to environmental issues like climate change has nothing to do with technology, knowledge, or intelligence: it’s human behavior and mindset. We often fear change, struggle to authentically communicate with those around us, and feel like we lack the tools to influence decision makers. With all of this in mind, the goal of Nature of Place: The Voice of Change is to help us connect to our communities, reconnect with the natural world, and catalyze real and lasting change towards climate action and an equitable green future.

Allegheny SolarFest
2022-06-18 12:00 - 18:00 | Hazelwood Green, 4501 Lytle Street, Pittsburgh, United States
Provided by: Solar United Neighbors (SUN)
Allegheny SolarFest is a fun, festive outdoor celebration of all things solar, full of music, great food, and lots of solar! Join to learn about solar, connect with solar installers and related businesses, and check out the latest electric vehicle models!
This year’s event will take place at Hazelwood’s Green Plaza – Mill 19, former J & L Steel mill. This site now features 2-megawatt solar installation – the largest solar installation in the country on a sloped roof- at the Hazelwood Green Plaza. You can expect a full day of education, community involvement, regions largest EV car show and live entertainment. See you under the sun!

BRIDGE TO 2030
2022-06-21 08:30 - 10:30 | The Highline Conference Center, 317 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Provided by: Green Building Alliance
Join GBA’s 2030 District team for breakfast and networking at the Highline; learn about the intersection of Building Science and Data Science and latest updates from Duquesne Light Co.

League Sustainability Web Conference
2022-06-21 09:00 - 15:30 | Virtual
Join the Pennsylvania Municipal League for their 2022 League Sustainability Conference.
