Philadelphia, June 20, 2014 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability released theGreenworks Philadelphia 2014 Progress Report, which highlights a range of successes, including tripling the number of greened acres that capture the first inch of rainwater before it enters the City’s sewer network in the last year, from 102 in 2012 to 323 in 2013.
“With the leadership and collaborative work of City staff, community partners and elected officials, Philadelphia has seen gains in all five of the Greenworks target areas,” said Mayor Nutter. “The pace and scale of implementation continues to grow, demonstrating that support for sustainability efforts is only getting stronger. Our Administration will continue to work to reach our goal of becoming the greenest city in America.”
The report outlines the status of work on 15 measureable targets in five topic areas: energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement. Five years into the six-year implementation timeline, work on 160 of the 164 initiatives is either complete or underway. In 2013, Philadelphia surpassed its goal for improved air quality for the first time since Greenworks was released and showed an 8% decrease in citywide greenhouse gas emissions since 2006.
Other results include:
* More than 100 new food access sites, including farmers markets and businesses participating in the Healthy Corner Stores Network, have been established across the city. This exceeds the originalGreenworks goal of 86 new sites.
* For the second consecutive year, Philadelphia exceeded the Greenworks 70% waste diversion goal. Nearly all municipal solid waste is diverted from landfills through waste-to-energy and recycling programs.
* Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s TreePhilly program has planted 100,000 trees since 2009.
“Annual reporting is a core function of our office and allows us to regularly share sustainability-related information with the public,” said Katherine Gajewski, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “One great benefit of tracking data on a yearly basis is that we are able to identify interesting and informative trends. We know and can document, for example, that weather patterns are a very influential driver of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality. Having information like this helps us to target our work and make better decisions.”
Major initiatives planned for 2014-2015 include the launch of Philadelphia Bike Share program and the development of the City’s climate adaptation plan.
