What do Heinz Field, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, the U.S. Steel Tower and Point Park University have in common? All four entities just signed pledges to join the Pittsburgh 2030 District—and their commitments have pushed the district’s participation to just over 50 percent. This milestone—reached less than six months after the district was launched and a full eight months earlier than expected—is yet another example of Pittsburgh’s national leadership in initiating and executing such a program.
These four newly signed entities are representative of downtown Pittsburgh’s diverse properties and of the partners who have committed to the Pittsburgh 2030 District thus far. With commitments from 31 property owners—including Carnegie Museums, CBRE, Alcoa, The PNC Financial Services Group, Trek Development and all three Pittsburgh sports teams—representing nearly 28 million square feet, higher performing buildings are becoming the new standard for Pittsburgh. All these partners committed to reaching 50 percent reductions in their water use, energy use and transportation emissions by 2030 voluntarily. Unlike other cities that are mandating such changes, Pittsburgh is making changes with a voluntary, grassroots approach.
“Continuing to maximize the health and efficiency of the buildings in downtown Pittsburgh has a direct correlation to improving the economic competitiveness of our region,” says Sean Luther, director of the Pittsburgh 2030 District for Green Building Alliance. “The commitments made by our 2030 District Partners will help ensure that downtown remains the center of commerce for our region by reducing energy and water consumption and operating expenses while reducing the total load on regional infrastructure.”
Now that the Pittsburgh 2030 District has reached this monumental participation goal, Green Building Alliance (the District convener and facilitator) is aiming for 65 percent participation by the end of the year. The district’s quick adoption and growth have allowed the partners to move forward with the nuts and bolts, focusing on the creation of local water and transportation baselines, with aggregate district progress anticipated in August.
The Pittsburgh 2030 District, a Green Building Alliance strategic innovation, presented by The Efficiency Network and supported by the EcoCommercial Building Network powered by Bayer, is a collaborative, nationally recognized but local community of high performance buildings in downtown Pittsburgh that aims to dramatically reduce energy and water consumption, reduce transportation emissions, and improve indoor air quality while increasing business competitiveness and owners’ returns on investment. Launched in August 2012, the Pittsburgh 2030 District is convened and facilitated by Green Building Alliance.