University of Pennsylvania
PAE-24: Sustainability Policy Advocacy

Several members of Penn's staff and faculty hold positions within various Philadelphia agencies that act to advance sustainable agendas and significant initiatives in the City and the University has partnered with local government to advance sustainability in a number of ways. Perhaps the most notable example is Mark Alan Hughes, a Professor of Practice at PennDesign, helped draft the Policy Markets Behavior (PMB) element of the winning Energy Efficient Buildings (EEB) Hub proposal for Philadelphia's Navy Yard. Established in 2011 by the Department of Energy as an energy regional innovation cluster, the EEB Hub is devoted to developing energy-efficient building technologies, designs, and systems, as well as demonstrating and advocating these solutions around the Philadelphia and Northeast region. The University of Pennsylvania is one of 11 academic members of the EEB Hub, contributing, among other work, applied research in energy management and policy development. Currently, several representatives from Penn are involved in the Hub's Specialist Team, Operating Committee, and Executive and Advisory Boards, while Hughes himself directed PMB research for the Hub's first two years. Most recently, the EEB Hub gave testimony to Philadelphia City Council's Committee on the Environment in regards to Bill 120428-A, an energy benchmarking and disclosure ordinance for the City. The legislation requires owners of non-residential buildings and spaces of 50,000 square feet or more to monitor and share its energy and water use using an online reporting system. This data can provide building users with a basis for comparing buildings they may rent or purchase, or assess the need for energy and water retrofits. The bill, passed in June of 2012, received unanimous support from the City Council and is currently being implemented in the City. PennPraxis, the applied research arm of Penn's School of Design, has long been engaged with planning and design collaboration in the City of Philadelphia. A notable example of PennPraxis's work is the Central Delaware Waterfront Masterplan, a infrastructure and design vision integrating ecological and urban systems along Philadelphia's largest waterfront. PennPraxis facilitated the civic engagement process, which was critical for building stakeholder interest and consensus for the project. PennPraxis has also been involved with Greenworks Philadelphia, a sustainability plan created by the Mayor's office of Sustainability in 2009. Green2015, an action plan created by PennPraxis in 2010 in partnership with the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department (PPR) has an intended goal to "unite city government and neighborhood residents to transform 500 acres of empty or underused land in Philadelphia into parks for neighbors to enjoy by 2015." Green2015 addresses specific open space access initiatives within the Greenworks plan. In February of 2013, again in partnership with PPR, PennPraxis completed the report More Park, Less Way: An Action Plan to Increase Urban Vibrancy on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The plan advocates improved multi-modal connectivity between nearby neighborhoods (an estimated population of 70,000), programming and amenities for 17 acres of underutilized open space, and creating a focused management structure to ensure the longevity of the park's vitality and operations. The first Parkway project, a conversion of a large surface parking lot in Eakin's Oval, opens in July 2013. Penn is also an institutional partner with PPR and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's (PHS) TreePhilly Campaign. TreePhilly is a tree planting initiative that supports several aspects of the Greenworks plan by pledging to plant 300,000 trees in Philadelphia by 2015. Penn's involvement has been largely through its Creating Canopy program, a joint venture with PPR to provide free canopy trees to University and University of Pennsylvania Health System employees who live in within the city limits to plant at their residences.

EEB Hub http://www.eebhub.org/ Philly Benchmarking Website http://phillybenchmarking.com/ EEB Hub Benchmarking Testimony http://s146206.gridserver.com/media/files/EEB_Hub_Philadelphia_Benchmarking_Testimony.pdf EEB Hub Press Release about Benchmarking Compliance http://www.eebhub.org/news-room/press-releases/utilities-can-help-building-owners-understand-their-energy-use-and-comply-w/ Mark Alan Hughes PennDesign Profile http://www.design.upenn.edu/people/hughes_mark-alan PennPraxis http://www.design.upenn.edu/pennpraxis Green2015 Plan Summary http://issuu.com/pennpraxis/docs/green2015_executivesummary Greenworks Philadelphia website http://www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/index.html More Park, Less Way plan http://issuu.com/pennpraxis/docs/moreparklessway TreePhilly http://treephilly.org/yard-trees/ Creating Canopy http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability/programs/creating-canopy