University of Pittsburgh
IN-47: Innovation A

The University of Pittsburgh launched the Pitt Sustainability Challenge in December 2022, a public competition offering and awarding $300,000 for implementation of a single proposal that is impactful, durable, and feasible to advancing carbon neutrality in the Pitt community.

The Pitt Sustainability Challenge embraces the 2018 Pitt Sustainability goal to “ensure that there is a mechanism for students, faculty, and staff to advance ideas for impact.” Co-delivered by the University’s Office of Sustainability and Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI), the Pitt Sustainability Challenge offered a $300,000 implementation grant to fund the best proposal to carbon neutrality with lasting benefits for the Pitt community. Through this Challenge, Pitt invited innovative solutions that were grounded in an understanding of local conditions; were ambitious, yet achievable; that showed the greatest potential to realize measurable improvements for the Pitt community; and that would endure in their intended outcomes over time.

Proposed solutions were asked to be integrated with Pitt’s existing strategies, particularly the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan and 2022 Pitt Climate Action Plan.

TIMING
• 2019 - Planning begins, with delivery pause for pandemic
• December 6, 2022 – Challenge Public Launch
• December 6, 2022 – April 5, 2023 - Open for proposals
• March 8, 2023 - Registration Deadline
• April 5, 2023 - Application Deadline
• April 2023 – Administrative Review of Proposals
• May 2023 – External Evaluation Panel Review of Proposals
• June 2023 - Pitt Sustainability Challenge Planning Team selects Finalists
• July 2023 – Announcement of Finalists
• September 14, 2023 – Finalists Pitch Event and Winner Selection & Announcement
• Winter 2023 – Winter 2025 - In partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, Ecotone Renewables is implementing their project with the University across multiple Pitt campuses over 2 years.

HOW IT WORKED
• Plan and execute Challenge in partnership with Carrot [vendor with international challenge expertise]
• Open to Pitt faculty, staff, students, vendors, and external entities
• Dedicated website provided central hub with eligibility criteria and application
• Proposals evaluated through a rubric, external and internal judge panel, and internal decision-makers
• Teams submitted written applications and 90-second video

FINALISTS
The 5 Pitt Sustainability Challenge finalists were announced in July 2023 – and publicly pitched their solutions on September 14, 2023.

The 5 finalists were:
• "Chill Up" Challenge by Pitt Green Labs
• CO2IReduce by University of Pittsburgh
• Ecotone Renewables’ Anaerobic Digestion Technology
• Panther Tracks by S&B USA Construction
• UPJ Geothermal Tunnels Feasibility Study

WINNER
On September 14, 2023, the Selection Committee selected as the Pitt Sustainability Challenge Winner of the $300,000 implementation grant, which was … ECOTONE RENEWABLES! From 2023-25 Pitt and Ecotone are working together to implement 5 Ecotone Renewables anaerobic digesters across Pitt campuses!

Ecotone Winner Announcement: https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/ecotone-renewables-wins-pitt-sustainability-challenge-2023

More about the Ecotone proposal: https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/finalists/ecotone-renewables-

Discussions with other finalists regarding implementation of their concepts at various scales are ongoing.

University of Pittsburgh Sustainability Challenge Planning Team:
o CO-CHAIR: Gena Kovalcik, Co-Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
o CO-CHAIR: Dr. Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of Sustainability
o Scott Bernotas, Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management
o Dr. Melissa Bilec, Special Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability & Co-Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
o Alexander Ducret, Director of Licensing, Innovation Institute
o Andrew Falk, Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
o Chris Gassman, Senior Associate Director, Center for Sustainable Business
o Shenay Jeffrey, Director of PittServes, Student Affairs
o Lucy Sankey Russell, Vice Provost and Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost
o Jennifer Seng, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Deputy Chief Legal Officer
o Brian Vidic, Director of Industry Partnerships, Innovation Institute
o Liaisons:
>> Julie LaBar / Melanie Lippert, Business & Operations Communications
>> Rebecca Roadman / Laura Zullo, Business & Operations
>> Amy Janocha / Tony Gacek, Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement

Pitt Sustainability Challenge Website – https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/

WINNER – Ecotone Renewables Anaerobic Digestion, https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/ecotone-renewables-wins-pitt-sustainability-challenge-2023

TIMELINE
o December 2023 - Win $300,000 and help Pitt achieve carbon neutrality, Pittwire, https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/announcements-and-updates/pitt-sustainability-challenge-2023 (December 2023)
o January 2023 - Pitt Sustainability Challenge invites students, staff to advance carbon neutrality on campus, The Pitt News, https://pittnews.com/article/178276/news/pitt-sustainability-challenge-invites-students-staff-to-advance-carbon-neutrality-on-campus (January 2023)
o July 2023 - The Pitt Sustainability Challenge is down to 5 finalists, Pittwire, https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/pitt-sustainability-challenge-finalists
o September 2023 - Pitt Sustainability Challenge Finalist Pitch Event, https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/pitt_sustainability_challenge_finalist_pitch_event
o September 2023 – Winner announced. https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/ecotone-renewables-wins-pitt-sustainability-challenge-2023
o Winter 2023 – Winter 2025 – Project implementation!

CHALLENGE CONSTRUCTS

o Rules - https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/rules
o Scoring Rubric – https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/scoring
o External Evaluation Panel - https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/evaluation
o Internal Selection Committee: https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/evaluation#selection
o Fairness - https://www.pittsustainabilitychallenge.org/fairness