There has been renewed interest in the City of Pittsburgh as a place to live and work due to the low cost of living, cultural amenities, and economic development in higher education, technology, and healthcare sectors. Although the city has made significant progress in environmental stewardship and transformed from a declining city into a thriving hub of innovation, technology, education, and culture, there is still a need for focused and inclusive efforts to ensure all Pittsburgh residents and visitors live well and can thrive.
While Pittsburgh continues to grow, the city recognizes the need to consider its environmental impacts. To protect the health and well-being of its natural resources, the city consistently invests in them, viewing them as valuable assets that enhance the economic and physical development of local communities and residents.
In 2007, the City of Pittsburgh signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to implement local climate change mitigation solutions that would save taxpayer dollars and reduce long-term energy use. Pittsburgh then adopted its first Climate Action Plan in 2008, and has since completed two major updates in 2012 and 2018. The current Climate Action Plan 3.0 provides a road map for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the City while also improving the resilience, health, and overall quality of life for Pittsburgh residents. The City of Pittsburgh is developing a Pittsburgh Comprehensive Plan starting in 2024 and will be integrating climate justice and Just Transition principles into long range goals.
Sustainability challenges
In October 2019, Pittsburgh became the second US city to formally adopt the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These 17 global goals are guiding Pittsburgh on its way to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and improve the quality of life for all its residents. To achieve this vision, the city is working to address and overcome challenges in the field of just transition, environmental sustainability and economic resilience.
- Energy Burden and Renewable Energy Procurement
The City of Pittsburgh has among the highest energy burdens in the United States. Residents pay a disproportionately high amount of their income towards a home’s operational utilities. Moreover, emissions from the built environment dominate Pittsburgh’s footprint with 99% of emissions coming from energy use, particularly from electricity, natural gas and transportation. In order to mitigate the high energy burdens especially for disadvantaged communities and reach the 2030 goals established in the City’s Climate Action Plan, the Pittsburgh region needs to reduce energy demand, enhance efficiency, decarbonize the electric grid and convert systems from combustion to electrification.
- Clean Workforce and Youth Engagement
Pittsburgh recognizes the need to expand equitable career opportunities for historically marginalized populations, including youth and young adults, returning citizens, residents of high- need and extreme-need neighborhoods (as designated by the Allegheny County Community Needs Index), and single-parent households. The Pittsburgh Workforce Hub Initiative is designed to build momentum for actions and partnerships that will connect people in the Pittsburgh region to good-quality and family-sustaining careers. The hub’s targeted sectors include clean energy, infrastructure, advanced/bio-manufacturing, and broadband sectors. Moreover, this effort builds upon the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles, a regional equity framework that advances good jobs for local residents across the Pittsburgh region, especially workers from disadvantaged populations, in order to build a safe, welcoming, and thriving community for all.
- Preserving Tree Canopy & Greenways
In Pittsburgh, there is an opportunity to lower net greenhouse gas emissions through the assessment, protection, and improvement of the tree canopy, soil, and water that make up the city’s urban ecosystem. Pittsburgh leads major US cities in urban tree canopy coverage with 42% of the City sheltered by trees. However, the City of Pittsburgh has an uneven distribution of urban forest resources. As a result, many neighborhoods are deprived of the benefits provided by trees, including improvements in air quality, reduced stormwater runoff, reduced heat island effect, energy savings, increased sense of community, habitat for wildlife, and the creation of economic opportunities provided by the urban forest. The City currently uses data to inform focused street tree investment but is seeking to improve this process by adding an equity lens through the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission’s Equitable Street Tree Investment Strategy. The strategy aims to identify low income / low canopy neighborhoods, support education and increased awareness on the value of the urban forest, develop tree care infrastructure, plant trees, and adopt and fund maintenance schedules for trees in these neighborhoods in order to improve the quality of life for current and future residents. The City of Pittsburgh is a proud partner in the Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance, a working group of more than 20 nonprofit organizations and government agencies from across Allegheny County working to improve the urban forests to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
- Sustainable and Socially Responsible Public Procurement
Pittsburgh uses its purchasing power as a key tool to achieve climate mitigation targets, reduce resource consumption and promote diversity and inclusion. One way the city is approaching sustainable procurement is through the analysis of its yearly expenditures. Additionally, through the extension of the PGHlab partnership with Kloopify, procurement can assign approximate emission values to the various levels, iterations, or types of municipal procurement. The platform empowers the Office of Management and Budget to develop a data-driven strategy to reduce emissions, guide departments and work with supply chain partners to curb regular purchases towards more environmentally preferable and socially responsible goods and services. Pittsburgh’s socially responsible procurement initiatives include collaboration with the Equal Opportunity Review Commission, which is responsible for reviewing and approving applicable professional service and construction contracts. This partnership also supports the development of policies aimed at ensuring equitable contracting opportunities for minority, women, disabled, and veteran-owned businesses. Finally, the city has appointed its inaugural sustainable procurement specialist who will be responsible for developing a sustainable and socially responsible procurement policy. This individual will collaborate with city departments to implement pilot programs for more sustainable options and assess their effectiveness.
As part of the 100 Resilient Cities Network, Pittsburgh has been identifying shocks and stresses that could potentially affect the city. In March 2017, Pittsburgh launched its OnePGH resilience strategy, which provides a guide to thrive in the 21st century as a city of engaged, empowered and coordinated neighbors.
Pittsburgh recognizes that it will become a resilient city when the entire community shares equal opportunities and prosperity, and all residents are well cared for and prepared to face potential risks.
