Businesses and Cities working together to make Greener Communities

Businesses and cities are coming together to help make our communities cleaner and more energy efficient.  Here at the Business Civic Leadership Center’s Community Investment Conference, this was well illustrated by the cities of Philadelphia and San Jose along with companies Dow and Siemens.  Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter spoke of  how public/ private partnerships are helping conserve energy use and highlighted the “Coolest Block” program that his City did with Dow last year. The “Coolest Block” contest allowed residents of row homes to compete to win an energy-saving “cool roof” and other energy efficient products, such as air sealing and insulation, for their entire block.  Jerome Peribere, President and CEO of Dow Advanced Materials articulated on the business of sustainability and how it is all of our business.  He gave what I think is probably the best business case I have seen for investing in green technology and working for sustainable communalities.  He told a story about the average home having a half mile of cracks and that these cracks let in up to two Goodyear blimps worth of air from the outside every day.  That means more heating in the winter and cooling during summer.  With new insulation technologies much of these “cracks’ can be filled. He said that everything we do from replacing light bulbs with fluorescents or LEDs to replacing or upgrading buildings to LEED specifications will gradually help us better utilize our precious resources.  Siemens gave out their annual Sustainable Community Awards. San Jose, California won in the large city category for their Green Vision Plan.  Siemens, like Dow and many other businesses, are making sustainability not only a business practice but a business driver.  http://sustainablecommunity.uschamber.com