It’s that time again: Get caught up on everything green jobs in our region at the annual Stakeholders Meeting, click here to register.

Ever notice how hard it can be to convince Philadelphians that we’ve got it going on? On Monday I heard Secretary Chu describe how seemingly well-positioned the Berkeley Lab was to win a giant U.S. Department of Energy grant and while he didn’t say it, I suspect he was a little surprised that $130M went to Philadelphia and Penn State instead.

Walking around the crowd after the press conference, others were also mildly mystified. And yet, this is just one of millions of dollars in awards this region’s institutions have received in the past year. Need we remind ourselves that Philadelphia received more Pathways Out of Poverty grants than any other city in the country and that our Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant was packed with $25M in funds this year? People, we are hot.

In fact, there is so much going on it can be hard to keep up with the big picture:

·         Are green businesses stronger today than they were a year ago?

·         Are there better opportunities for people with barriers to employment this year than last?

Further, the emergence of so many new programs can be hard to translate for you individually:

·         What’s in it for my company?

·         What’s in it for my clients?

As each institution, like Penn State, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, or Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, roll out new programs and capital, the Green Economy Task Force becomes ever more important to keeping you informed.

That’s why the Green Economy Task Force Stakeholders Meeting is always packed. Let us bring you the biggest projects, the key decision-makers, and the most relevant information on green jobs and opportunities for people living in poverty. 

RSVP to save your seat before they’re gone.

Thank you to our host, Job Opportunity Investment Network (JOIN), for making the space available to us for our meeting.

When: Friday October 8 from 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Where: United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 7 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA

 

Words like “sustainable”, “green” and “eco-friendly” can have vague connotations, especially as more and more businesses join the green movement.

Learn the legal ropes of marketing green and some leaner, greener marketing strategies for your business at our half-day, 2-panel workshop.

The first panel will feature legal experts and branding specialists to share strategies for maximizing impressions with likely consumers and expertise on what businesses can and cannot proclaim about being green.

Marketing professionals in the second panel will cover trends in marketing to a green-centric audience, alternatives to high-impact advertising, and ways to reach on-the-fence consumers contemplating buying green.

For a full agenda visit: www.sbnmarketingworkshop.eventbrite.com

EVENT DETAILS:

When: Thursday, June 24th 2010, 8:30 AM -12:00 PM

Where: Wharton Small Business Development Center University of Pennsylvania
Jon M. Huntsman Hall, Room 260

Fee: $12 for members, $16 for non-members; breakfast provided

Register: sbnmarketingworkshop.eventbrite.com   Deadline to register is June 23rd, 9:00 AM

Zac Sivertsen has been behind the scenes of the Green Economy Task Force newsletter and website for the past year. He took a scrappy e-mail and half of a blog and turned them into a two-stop shop for all of the nation’s news and resources on the green economy. In just six months the GETF’s website has nearly 5 times more views per month and the GETF e-mail list has grown by more than 25%. Take a look at www.greeneconomytaskforce.com. His Americorps VISTA term is nearly finished and he would welcome your feedback on this work. E-mail Zac.

Yesterday I asked Van Jones, at Climate Leadership Academy in Washington DC, whether there was any hope for people with barriers to employment in an economy where thousands of skilled workers are sitting on the bench. His response was simple: “Is all the work done?”
    
There are over 100 million homes to weatherize in this country. Our water infrastructure is decrepit and facing increased pressure from storms and pollution. Millions of roofs continue to create a hazardous heat island effect in our cities. Only when all of this work, and more, is underway will we see seasoned workers working side-by-side with Americans entering the workforce for the first time.
 
Together Sue Hoffman from the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, Jennie Sparandara from the Mayor’s Office, Andrew Rachlin from the Commerce Department, Seth Green from Job Opportunity Investment Network, and I are spending these three days in DC to evaluate our region’s strategy for getting that work moving. We welcome your input and I look forward to updating you all at the next Green Economy Task Force Stakeholders Meeting. Stay tuned.
 
 
Kate Houstoun

Please don’t tell my dad, but I still haven’t weatherized my house. What am I waiting for? I keep putting off an energy audit because it pains me to think what the up-front cost for fixing all the problems would be. Embarrassed? Yes. Alone? Not at all.

Last week I joined Green Economy Task Force Policy Co-Chair, Natalia Olson-Urtecho, on an action-packed tour of Capitol Hill. In addition to meeting with both Senators Casey and Specter, we were thrilled to be in the Capitol Building when HOME STAR (“Cash for Caulkers”), bipartisan energy efficiency legislation, passed the House. 

If HOME STAR passes the Senate, what will it mean for procrastinators like myself? First I would go to an approved retailer or contractor and they would give me a discount before work is conducted. Then they would submit documentation of the purchase or work to the U.S. Department of Energy for reimbursement. If I opted for the “Gold Star” program, I would get a rebate of up to $3,000 if I conducted a whole-house energy audit and made improvements that increased my home’s overall energy-efficiency by at least 20%. Then I would also be eligible for an additional $1,000 rebate for each additional 5% efficiency improvement-that’s up to $8,000 in rebates!

With the up-front financial burden reduced, imagine thousands of Philadelphians like myself insulating their ceilings, replacing those Florida windows, and installing Energy Star appliances. Not only would we put people back to work and improve the resale value of our homes, but we would have more money in our pockets from energy savings to spend at local businesses. You don’t need to be a green business to understand this would be good business!

Fondly, Kate

Will we see you on the Hill? The 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference will be held on May 4-6 in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Hilton. This conference is the nation’s leading forum for building a green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming and preserves America’s environmental and economic security.  Hosted by the Blue Green Alliance, this three day conference will include keynote addresses from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter.   
  
Along with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, a number of GETF Stakeholders will be speaking at the conference, including:

• Leanne Krueger-Braneky, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
• Kate Houstoun, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
• Steve Herzenberg, Keystone Research Center
• Sue Hoffman, Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board 
• Tom Tuffey, PennFuture
• Laureen Boles, Philadelphia Water Department
• Thomas May, Urban Engineers, Inc.

These speakers will be participating on panels discussing the Philadelphia Water Department’s Green Streets Plan and successful initiatives and policies to jumpstart the green economy in Pennsylvania.
 
To learn more about the event, or to register, click here.
 
If you’re already planning to attend, let us know so we can connect when we arrive.

It was announced today that the City of Philadelphia, along with its partners in the Metropolitan Caucus and a coalition of public, private, and non-profit partners, have received a $25 million “Recovery Through Retrofit” grant from the US Department of Energy.  

The grant will be used to significantly ramp-up residential and commercial building energy efficiency retrofit activities throughout the greater Philadelphia region, creating hundreds of jobs and saving the region millions in energy costs over the next several years.

“This grant is about doing well by doing good – creating jobs and boosting the economy by helping citizens and businesses across the region build greener” said Mayor Nutter.

Philadelphia’s Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski said “This was a very competitive process, with more than $3.5 billion in applications for $450 million in available funds. We are honored to have been chosen. The real strength of our application was the partnerships; there are many in the region who have been working toward this moment for years, and it’s terrific to see all that preparation and good work recognized.”

Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Alan Greenberger said: “We’re truly creating new economic opportunity here, by growing a new industry. We look forward to seeing the region’s builders, suppliers, and designers making energy efficiency a foundation for their growth. That means new businesses and new jobs.”

Read the full press release from the Mayor’s Office here.

In order to grow green businesses we need leaders who understand the critical impact of environmental policy on economic development. In order to prepare Philadelphians for those jobs, we need leaders who understand that workforce development best serves workers when it effectively serves business. If the Green Economy Task Force is going to succeed, we need a Governor who has a vision and a plan for both. 

This month you have the opportunity to hear from the gubernatorial candidates on both of these issues. SBN and the Green Economy Task Force are pleased to invite you:

1) Environment: Thursday April 15 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will allow candidates to discuss their positions on significant issues related to the environment, urban sustainability and natural resources. 

2) Workforce: Monday April 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., will offer an informative and interactive look at how the Commonwealth can best meet the needs of workers, businesses, and local economies in the 2010s and beyond.      

Both forums are free, but they are expected to sell out, so RSVP quickly!

Gubernatorial Forum on Urban Sustainability

WHERE:
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

WHEN: 
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Reception: 6:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Program: 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

RSVP is required for this event: www.pennsylvaniagubernatorialforum.eventbrite.com/

Gubernatorial Forum on the Future of Pennsylvania’s Workforce and Economy

WHERE:
The National Constitution Center
525 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA

WHEN:
Monday, April 19, 2010
Workforce Open House: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Program: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

RSVP is required for this event: www.pagovforum.org

Cory (far left) and Dawn (far right) speaking on a panel at the Career Day

Last week, Cory Suter (BioNeighbors Sustainable Homes) and Dawn Moody (Energy Coordinating Agency), founding members of the Green Economy Speakers Bureau, participated in their first event as Green Ambassadors; the Deloitte Career Exploration Day.  This event provided first-hand access to different careers, for students from the Kensington International Business High School, who are part of the Deloitte Education Collaborative. The careers that were present were specifically chosen by the students because they wanted to know what the jobs actually entail and what steps they have to take to have a career in those fields. 
   
If you know of a Green Economy All-Star that has a green-collar job and would make a great Ambassador for the Speakers Bureau, email Zac Sivertsen, the Green Jobs Associate for SBN.

Kate Houstoun from SBN presents at the Gray to Green release

If the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passes, the City will begin a massive installation of green infrastructure to reduce demand on the sewer system. But that’s only half the battle: More than half of the installations PWD will need to meet its Clean Water Act goals need to occur on private properties. The fourth chapter of the Emerging Industries Project, Gray to Green: Jumpstarting Private Investment in Green Stormwater Infrastructure, addresses this challenge.

More than sixty people gathered at United Way of Southeastern PA to get a first look at this new chapter of the Emerging Industries Project. The report was written by SBN Policy Fellow Sarah E. Francis, with guidance from a working group of Green Economy Task Force Stakeholders. It has garnered some high praise from Howard Neukrug, director of the Philadelphia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds, and a nationally known stormwater management specialist.  In a PlanPhilly article by Tom Walsh, Neukrug referred to the report as “groundbreaking,” and said that he: ”was just thrilled when [he] read it, how well it does in describing the issues that are confronting us today, and beginning to look at what some of the solutions may be.”

Click here to read Gray to Green: Jumpstarting Private Investment in Green Stormwater Infrastructure.

Working Groups for the Emerging Industries Project are intentionally diverse, representing business, nonprofit, environmental advocacy, funder, organized labor, and government perspectives. To learn more about the Emerging Industries Project, contact Kate Houstoun, Director of Green Economy Initiatives at the Sustainable Business Network.

Working Group:

Kenny Ashe, Progress Investment Associates

Laureen Boles, Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia Water Department

Joanne Dahme, Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia Water Department

Brian Glass, PennFuture

Wes Horner, Brandywine Conservancy

Melissa Muroff, Roofscapes, Inc.

Corey Suter, BioNeighbors Sustainable Homes

 

Interviews & Support:

Laureen Boles, Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia Water Department

Gabriel Clark, Remington Group

Mae Kate Dooley, Dooley’s Landscaping & Tree Care Services, LLC

Pat Eiding, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO

David Faust, Bethlehem Pre-Cast, Inc

Mario Gentile, Shift Space Design LLC

Robert Gillies, AP Construction

Brian Glass, PennFuture

Katherine Gluntz Holmok, URS Corporation

Elliott Gold, Philadelphia Gas Works

Nella Goodwin, Department of Finance, City of Philadelphia

Casey Grabowski, Tetra Tech

James Green, Planning Commission, City of Philadelphia

Chevelle Harrison, Office of Economic Opportunity, City of Philadelphia

Bernadine Hawes, American Cities Foundation

Wes Horner, Brandywine Conservancy

Christine Knapp, PennFuture

Pauline Loughlin, Planning Commission, City of Philadelphia

Katherine Martinelli, PECO

Shawn McCaney, William Penn Foundation

Charlie Miller, Roofscapes, Inc.

Dino Petrongello, AP Construction