Kudos to Philly! The city plans to become the greenest city in the U.S. by 2015

Philadelphia is the nearest big city to Newark, DE where Eco-Libris is headquartered and we love this great city. We're also a proud member of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN).

All of this introduction is just to explain why we're so happy to hear today that Philly is aspiring to become greenest city in the U.S. by 2015.

Yep, it's true. Mayor Michael Nutter announced today the plan in a speech at the Franklin Institute. The plan entitled 'GreenWorks Philadelphia' is a comprehensive plan to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the United States by 2015. It includes more than 150 initiatives and sets goals in five areas — energy, environment, equity, economy and engagement — all designed to help create jobs in the emerging green economy and reduce the city’s environmental footprint.

"We've put out a plan that is aggressive, achievable and measurable," said Nutter. "The green economy is a pathway to the future. We [Philadelphia] were known for innovation many years ago and now we are reinventing ourselves."

According to the Environmental Leader, key target goals of Greenworks Philadelphia include:

• Decrease city government energy consumption by 30 percent
• Reduce energy consumption in buildings citywide by 10 percent
• Retrofit 15 percent of housing with insulation, air sealing, and cool roofs
• Purchase and generate 20 percent of electricity from alternative energy sources
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent
• Improve air quality toward attainment of federal standards
• Divert 70 percent of solid waste from landfill
• Manage storm water to meet federal standards
• Provide park and recreation resources within 10 minutes of 75 percent of residents
• Offer local food within 10 minutes of 75 percent of residents
• Boost tree coverage toward 30 percent in all neighborhoods in 2025
• Reduce vehicle miles traveled by 10 percent
• Increase the “State of Good Repair” of city infrastructure
• Double the number of low- and high-skill green jobs to 28,8000

This is great news and we are positive that with the leadership of Mark Alan Hughes who runs the Mayor's Office of Sustainability (MOS) and is the person responsible to the implementation of this plan, GreenWorks Philadelphia will not only meet its goals but will also inspire other cities to follow suit.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net