Green Engineering in Focus in Pittsburgh

When the University of Pittsburgh opened its Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation in 2003 it was a much different world than it is today. “We spent a lot of time teaching people what sustainable design was and convincing, or talking to companies and trying to convince them, that it was in their best interest to look at sustainable design,” says Center Co-director Eric Beckman. “Now sometimes I think in academia we are trying to keep up with industry because the industry interest has just exploded.”

More than 300 academicians, engineers, architects and designers will gather in Pittsburgh over the next two days to showcase innovations in sustainable design at the 2011 Engineering Sustainability conference. It is the 4th biennial conference. Beckman says the event features a mixture of disciplines and that makes for some interesting conversations. “When you talk about sustainability and you are an architect or an urban planner you are looking at large link scale things; communities, cities and regions, and then we have folks that are looking at sustainability from a molecular design perspective or from a device perspective,” says Beckman.

Beckman says the event also looks at sustainable engineering at all stages of development. Presentations from the academic community might deal with technology that is still being developed while a presentation from the head of an industry leader may focus on a product that has already hit the market.

Among the speakers will be University of Michigan professor Gregory Keolein. He tries to answer the question, “how do you know when something is green?” Beckman says, “[Keolein] is a pioneer in something called life-cycle analysis… If you’ve got two products you can compare them and determine which one has a smaller environmental footprint.” The lecture could be of heightened interest with the recent release of information that the Pittsburgh convention center (where the event is being held) is not operating with as much energy efficiency as was originally expected.

Beckman says he is keeping an eye on new innovations to make buildings more energy efficient. He says the advice we have been giving people to reduce energy use in homes and buildings has not changed much in the last 30 years. “So for me the next big things are innovations that allow us to greatly reduce the burden we place on the grid in existing homes and buildings. I’m just starting to see interesting ideas in that area.” Beckman says buildings consume about a third of the energy used in the US, meaning a new sustainable engineering breakthrough could have a big impact on power demand.

Pgh., N. Ireland to Share Sustainability Ideas

A delegation of business and government representatives from Northern Ireland will come to Pittsburgh to discuss sustainable environmental practices Monday to Thursday .

President Jim Lamb of the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh says his organization is hosting several seminars to spark discussion between the regions on sustainable environmental practices in business and government.

Lamb says Northern Ireland wants to become a leading European region in terms of sustainable business development and renewable energy.

“I think they identify Pittsburgh, for a number of reasons, as a similar kind of region that it might make sense to partner [with],” says Lamb.

In addition to talks between businesses and government, ten graduate students from Northern Ireland who came to Pittsburgh last year will share their sustainable practices studies with the delegation.

Lamb says talks on sustainable technology between Pittsburgh and Northern Ireland began shortly after the September 2009 G-20 Summit of world leaders.

Leaders Discuss Energy Saving Strategies

Allegheny County officials wrap up 2 days of meetings today at the National Energy Efficiency Forum in Los Angeles. The event is sponsored by the National Association of Counties.
County Executive Dan Onorato and Sustainability Manager Jeaneen Zappa joined other county leaders from across the nation to discuss energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as strategies for energy management.
Zappa says they discussed how Allegheny County used an $8.1 million federal grant.....
"We've evaluated our buildings and split it into 2 phases and now were implementing energy efficiency measures and water saving measures at the jail and the Kane Regional facilities (nursing homes). We'll move into other buildings in phase 2 as soon as we get that approved."

Zappa says they set aside $2.1 million to help all communities in Allegheny County to conduct an energy audit of their primary municipal building and 104 of them took the county up on its offer. She said people were excited that the county used some of the grant for its own buildings and a portion to help the region.

Zappa says she's heard a lot of innovative ideas. She says the county hopes to create a fund to help retrofit homes and commercial buildings to save energy.

In phase 1 of the retrofits at the jail and the Kane facilities, they anticipate an annual savings of $2 million in energy costs. Zappa says if those savings are not realized, the contract will owe the county money. She says the whole project will be paid back through savings in a little more than 6 and a half years.

Water An Economic Opportunity, Says Report

The Pittsburgh World Environment Day Partnership released a report assessing the region's capacity to become a leader in water and water-related industries. With the region's rivers and rainfall, it has a tremendous advantage in becoming a leader in these industries, the report says.

Jerry Paytas, Vice President of Research and Analytics at Fourth Economy says because water is used every day, it hasn't always been thought of as an industry. The renewable resource is increasingly used in industries such as food production and gas drilling.

On a global basis, water availability is expected to change in the next few decades due to expanding populations, people not necessarily clustering in places where water is plentiful and climate change. Paytas says this makes Pittsburgh poised to become a leader in this industry.

Jeanne VanBriesen, Director of the Water Quality in Urban Environment Systems at Carnegie Mellon says water can be seen as what the next stage in Pittsburgh industries will look like. "We've been an extraction-focused region for a long time with our oil, and our coal and now our natural gas. And really determining what the region is doing in terms of this renewable resource has been a challenge we're really interested to take on," she said.

The report says there are more than 3,000 firms with nearly 3.5 billion in sales in the water-related sectors in the region. They recommend Southwest Pennsylvania develop a Water Cluster Consortium and develop more efficient uses of water for energy, industry and agriculture.

Investing in Sustainable Communities

One of the founders of the new urbanism movement says a regional focus and a holistic view of smart growth, cost and savings is needed when it comes to investing an and developing sustainable communities.
Architect Peter Calthorpe was the keynote speaker at the recent 10th Annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Smart Growth Conference. Calthorpe says regional planning for the urban setting must look at the connection between transportation, land use and housing.
Listen to Calthorpe's entire address "Raising the Bar for Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities."

Ridge: Sustainable Practices Should Be Seen as Investment

Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Governor was the keynote speaker at a conference hosted by Duquesne University in Pittsburgh Wednesday on the changing rules of sustainable business practices. Ridge brought to the discussion his expertise in security, running state government and working for the Marcellus Shale industry.
Ridge told those gathered that if sustainable practices are to be adopted by a business, the company must see it as an investment with a return rather than an expense. He says it needs to be part of a business brand and everyone from top to bottom needs to buy into the idea. Ridge says that goes for entire industries as well. He has been hired as a consultant by the Marcellus Shale Coalition and he says those companies must deal with sustainability issues in a very quick, real and public way...
"One accident, somebody trying to cut corners can tarnish it for everybody. So, there's got to be a certain amount of hopefully, self-policing and leadership within the industry itself to make sure that if you're here to be long term, 20 to 30 years to create family sustaining jobs, Pennsylvania jobs, and I want to create a platform where the industry is not grudgingly accepted but warmly embraced."

Ridge says managers need to embed sustainability as a for-profit methodology, a business process that affects the bottom line, has positive social impact and enhances stakeholder trust.