City Rising

Latest Episodes:

Nature’s Embrace: The Green Burial Movement: Live Episode at Laurel Hill Jun 19, 2024

In this special episode of City Rising, join us for an insightful panel discussion moderated by Green Philly's Julie Hancher, hosted at the historic Laurel Hill West Cemetery. Although City Rising has taken a brief hiatus, we're excited to share a recording from our recent event exploring the future of eco-friendly burials with Emily Maroni, Friends of Green Burial PA; Gregg Tepper, Laurel Hill's Senior Horticulturist, and Tom Cavanaugh, Laurel Hill's Director of Cemetery Sales & Family Services; with a special introduction by Nancy Goldenberg, CEO & President of Laurel Hill.

This podcast is created in partnership with Gritty and Green Podcast Make sure to subscribe and listen to wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Green Philly and follow us on Instagram for more news and upcoming events.

Season 2 Sneak Preview - July 2019 Jul 10, 2019

A new season of City Rising is coming in July 2019! Hear about guests including Judy Wicks and Adam Agalloco, topics and this season's theme: Energy!

How San Francisco Takes on Composting, Fast Fashion & More with Alexa Kielty Jan 23, 2019

How does the "greenest" city in America divert compost and clothes from landfills? Alexa Kielty, Zero Wast Specialist of San Francisco talks about their journey with wins and hurdles in today's episode. This is a follow up from our last episode when we chatted about Zero Waste with Nic Esposito in Philadelphia.

Tune in to learn:

How San Francisco manages trash, recycling and composting
What terms (biodegradable, compostable) mean it's ACTUALLY compostable?
Problems with compostable plastics
The ongoing debate between buying a single-use cup or washing a reusable cup
San Francisco's program to fight fast fashion and textile waste
One idea for how to stop people from throwing away so much trash

Episode resources:

San Francisco Department of Environment

Green Philly Where Can I Wednesday column
CUSP

Cleaning up Philly's Trashy Reputation: Talking Zero Waste & Litter with Nic Esposito Nov 21, 2018

How does Philadelphia tackle litter problems? We talk with Philadelphia's Zero Waste and Litter Director, Nic Esposito, to discuss Philly's litter problem, zero waste, recycling problems, our disposable culture and more in this episode of City Rising. Tune in to learn:

Why is Philly focusing on zero waste and litter initiatives?
What is the Zero waste and Litter index?
How Nic Esposito became the zero waste and litter Director
A major misconception about who litters
What is the litter index?
Why isn't Philly focusing on street sweeping?
Broom Gangs
What you can and can't recycle in Philadelphia
What other cities are getting on board with zero waste

Episode resources:

CleanPHL
Not in Philly
Zero Waste & Litter training with Ric Resposito
Green Philly Where Can I Wednesday column
Circle Compost

How CUSP is making Climate Change Education FUN with Richard Johnson Nov 14, 2018

How is Philly preparing for climate change? One group, the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP), motivates residents to learn how these solutions are preparing our city for climate change and shows how, together, neighborhoods can make a real difference. We interview Richard Johnson of The Franklin Institute is the Manager of the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership to hear about what CUSP has accomplished in the past 5 years.

What is CUSP?
How does CUSP educate Philadelphia residents?
a big SECRET about how Philly murals are created
Unusual partnerships that have formed due to CUSP
How to get a FREE rain barrel in Philadelphia
Ways to engage people around the "doom & gloom" around climate change
How to talk to climate deniers about climate change
A surprising group of climate allies and educators

If you liked this episode, please rate and review it below!

We want to hear from you! Subscribe to City Rising wherever you listen to podcasts. Email your feedback to contact@greenphillyblog.com. Find out when new episodes drop by signing up for our emails.

About Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson of The Franklin Institute is the Manager of the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership. Richard has been an environmental educator both at home and abroad, and will do almost anything to get people to laugh and learn about the environment. He was an Environmental Education Specialist with the Peace Corps. He also worked with Philadelphia high schoolers, helping them start green businesses and graduate from one of the city’s lowest-performing schools. He holds his BA from Rhodes College and is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

How Orlando is Reimagining its City's Reputation with Chris Castro Nov 07, 2018

On this episode of City Rising, we continue the conversation about how city government is taking the lead on climate action. Our special guest, Chris Castro is the City of Orlando’s Director of Sustainability & Resilience. Tune into this episode to find out:

How Orlando is trying to turn around its reputation as a destination to disruptor
The largest carbon emitters in Orlando
Ways Orlando works with other cities, including Philadelphia, to learn best practices
Where Orlando is investing "green bonds" to make the biggest impact
The key stakeholders helping to accelerate Orlando's sustainable mission
List item

If you liked this episode, please rate and review it below!

We want to hear from you! Subscribe to City Rising wherever you listen to podcasts. Email your feedback to contact@greenphillyblog.com. Find out when new episodes drop by signing up for our emails.

A sustainability and clean energy expert, eco-entrepreneur, urban farmer and amplifying organizer. In 2008, Chris co-founded IDEAS For Us, an international 501c3 nonprofit & UN-accredited NGO, working to incubate global environmental solutions and fund local action that advances the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2013, he helped co-create "Fleet Farming", a renowned urban farming program that is redefining local food systems by building distributed organic farms on homeowner lawns through neighborhoods and communities in the U.S. Chris is currently the City of Orlando’s Director of Sustainability & Resilience, and Co-chair of Smart Cities for the City of Orlando, developing partnerships, policies, and programs to support the sustainability, clean energy, & climate resilience goals of Mayor Dyer's Green Works Orlando initiative.

Green Works Orlando works to transform Orlando into one of the most environmentally-friendly, economically and socially vibrant communities in the nation. Green Works Orlando represents our commitment to build partnerships and share resources that foster positive environmental changes.

Tune into this episode to learn how civic leaders in a major City in Florida are stepping up despite the lack of support from the federal government in a state where the term Climate Change is banned from use in government.
Episode Resources:

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

How Philly is Tackling Climate Change with Christine Knapp Oct 31, 2018

On this episode of City Rising, we explore what local government is doing to mitigate the impacts of climate change, while positively engaging all communities. Cities are stepping up where the federal government is letting us down. Our guest, Christine Knapp is the Executive Director for the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability (OOS), works with partners to improve quality of life in all neighborhoods, reduce the City’s carbon emissions, and prepare Philadelphia for a hotter, wetter future. Tune in to this episode to learn from the City of Philadelphia’s sustainability leader:

How Philadelphia is positioned and will adapt to climate change
Ways cities are stepping up when the federal government steps down
How Christine Knapp created her own position (by accident...)
Specific steps Philadelphia is taking to reduce its carbon emissions
Ways Philly is engaging schools and the next generation
OOS's Strategy for public engagement
The "secret society" of city leaders forwarding climate solutions
The shocking difference in degrees of how much hotter one neighborhood can be than another
How voters are demanding sustainable changes in Denver?

If you liked this episode, please rate and review it below!

We want to hear from you! Subscribe to City Rising wherever you listen to podcasts. Email your feedback to contact@greenphillyblog.com. Find out when new episodes drop by signing up for our emails.

OOS is responsible for implementing Greenworks Philadelphia, the City’s comprehensive sustainability plan. Read more here.

Get involved and subscribe to the OOS newsletter.

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

This is episode 1 of Office of Sustainability series.

How Philly Greens Buildings: 2030 District with Alex Dews Oct 24, 2018

Alex Dews, Director of Green Building United, joins us to talk about the Philadelphia 2030 District, with goals including 50% reductions in energy use, water consumption, and transportation emissions (below baselines) by the year 2030. Find out how cities are combating climate change is changing the buildings we work, live and use every day.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Where buildings use the most energy
How Philadelphia joined the 2030 District Initiatives
Key (and surprising!) stakeholders in the Philadelphia 2030 initiative
How Philadelphia learned from other cities in the 2030 district
What is the largest building in the PHL signed on to the 2030 initiative?
Challenges for building owners and Philadelphia to be energy efficient
Philadelphia's energy benchmarking program
What drives participants to join the initiative.
How a local government works on sustainability when the federal government talks about pulling out of Paris Climate Accord

This is episode 2 of the 2030 districts. If you haven't listened, go back and listen to Episode 2, with Angelica Ciranni, the Pittsburgh 2030 District Senior Director.

If you liked this episode, please rate and review it below!

We want to hear from you! Subscribe to City Rising wherever you listen to podcasts. Email your feedback to contact@greenphillyblog.com. Get an email when new episodes drop by signing up for our emails.

Additional resources from today's episode:

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit cuspproject.org for more info.

For more information on City Rising, visit greenphillyblog.com/podcast

About Alex Dews

Alex has spent the past ten years working on green building and urban sustainability in Philadelphia. Alex worked in real estate development prior to leading program implementation and progress reporting for Greenworks Philadelphia, the city's comprehensive sustainability plan. Alex is a LEED AP and received a BA in English from the University of Vermont and an MS in Sustainable Design from Philadelphia University where he is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Architecture.

Where are Renewable Energy Jobs? Green Careers (Part 2 ) Oct 17, 2018

On this Episode of City Rising, we take an in-depth look into the green job landscape, the future of work and the climate action workforce. Special guest Emily Schapira is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA), and she provides insight into her work with the Philadelphia Energy Campaign and how she merged her passion for a substantial energy-related problem into an impactful career path. If this is your first time tuning into City Rising, go back and listen to Episode 1 with Dan Smolen to hear another perspective on the climate workforce.

Tune into this episode to learn:

How to enter into a career in renewable energy and sustainability.
Who are the stakeholders and leaders involved in creating clean energy jobs?
What types of jobs are out there?
The price of solar energy in Philadelphia
What companies are hiring in renewable energy right now
Are federal tariffs affecting the growth of solar panels?
Details on Philadelphia’s big sustainability goals
City-wide initiatives for clean energy jobs and training.
Philadelphia Energy Campaign and the $1Billion investment

We want to hear from you! Subscribe to City Rising wherever you listen to podcasts. Email your feedback to contact@greenphillyblog.com. Get an email when new episodes drop by [signing up for our email list].

About Emily Schapira:
Emily Schapira is PEA’s Executive Director and current Vice Chair of the board. Emily joined PEA as an employee in June 2016 to execute the Philadelphia Energy Campaign, a $1 billion, 10-year initiative to advance energy efficiency and clean energy across Philadelphia, while creating over 10,000 jobs. Emily has been a PEA board member since 2010, as the City Council appointee.
Before joining PEA full time, Emily was Director of Global Accounts for the Lighting category for WESCO Distribution, a Fortune 500 electrical supply company. Her focus was on developing portfolio-wide energy efficient lighting upgrades for large commercial, industrial and institutional customers. WESCO acquired Emily’s previous company, Aelux, in 2015 where Emily served as Chief Operating Officer, managing sales, marketing and operations teams, and VP of Marketing and Business Development since 2012. Aelux was a lighting and controls retrofitter serving both small and large businesses and a variety of government and institutional clients across North America.
Prior to joining Aelux, Emily worked on sustainability for Verizon and Intel, and started and ran the Wharton School’s Sustainability Program, based in Wharton’s facilities management group. Emily’s efforts focused on operational eco-efficiency and behavior change, and supported LEED certifications and attempts across the Wharton portfolio, earning the first LEED for Commercial Interiors certification at Penn. Emily also spent five years running a consumer heating oil co-op in Philadelphia and advocating for low-income energy assistance at the federal, state and local levels.

About the Philadelphia Energy Authority
In 2010, Council President Darrell Clarke and Mayor Michael Nutter launched the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) as an independent municipal authority. City Council established the Philadelphia Energy Authority to provide targeted expertise and focus on Philadelphia’s efforts to reduce energy consumption and expense. Under its founding ordinance, PEA is authorized to facilitate and develop energy efficiency and energy generation projects, to purchase or facilitate energy supply and energy services on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, government agencies, institutions, and businesses, and educate consumers.

Resources from today's episode:

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

For more information on City Rising, visit greenphillyblog.com/podcast.

Email your feedback and questions to contact@greenphillyblog.com.

Future of Buildings: Pittsburgh 2030 District with Angelica Ciranni Oct 10, 2018

How can we make the buildings in which we live, work and play more sustainable?

With over 410 MILLION square feet of commercial building space and 960 member organizations, 2030 Districts are rapidly emerging as a new model for urban sustainability. 2030 districts are unique private/public partnerships committed to reducing energy use, water consumption, and transportation emissions. The 2030 District model provides measurable goals for improving building performance and enhancing resiliency as much as 50% reductions by the year 2030, with new construction reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.

On this Episode of City Rising, we take a deep dive into one of the first cities onboard since 2013, Pittsburgh with guest Angelica Ciranni, the Pittsburgh 2030 District Senior Director at Green Building Alliance.

Tune into this episode to learn:

What is a 2030 district?
What Pittsburgh 2030 District has learned in the past 5 years.
Who are the key stakeholders of the Pittsburgh 2030 District challenge
LEED-certified: What does that seal on buildings actually mean?
"Pittsburgh not Paris"? What does Pittsburgh think about that?
Make My trip Count: How Pittsburgh designed a survey for its residents to find out about transportation
How are cities working together in 2030 districts? How Pittsburgh learned from other cities.
How YOUR city can become a 2030 district.
Steps to reduce your carbon footprint by looking at your utility bill

This is episode 1 of the 2030 districts: stay tuned for part two of the series during episode 4, with Alex Dews of Green Building United in Philadelphia.

If you liked this episode, please rate and review it below!

**About Angelica Ciranni **

Angelica Ciranni is the Senior Director of the Pittsburgh 2030 District, an initiative of Green Building Alliance. The Pittsburgh 2030 District is a voluntary community of more than 500 buildings in Pittsburgh committed to aggressive goals of 50% reductions in energy consumption, water use, and transportation emissions by the year 2030, while improving indoor air quality. Angelica has worked in a variety of capacities within the green building industry, with a focus on existing buildings, at both PNC Bank and the Sports & Exhibition Authority. Angelica holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, with a concentration in Construction Management and Sustainability. She is a LEED AP O+M, a Certified Energy Manager, a GPRO instructor, and was recognized by GreenBiz’s 30 Under 30 list in 2016.

Additional resources from today's episode:

Pittsburgh 2030 District on LinkedIn

Is God Green? Sustainability & Religion - Green Philly, 2013

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit cuspproject.org for more info.

For more information on City Rising, visit greenphillyblog.com/podcast.

Green Careers: Finding jobs, Keeping employees & Future workforce with Dan Smolen Oct 03, 2018

On this Episode of City Rising, we take an in-depth look into the green job landscape, the future of work and the climate action workforce. Special guest based in Washington DC, Dan Smolen is an author, podcaster, and a passionate advocate for members of the workforce who want to make their dreams of doing meaningful work come true.

Tune into this episode to learn:

Overall job trends in the climate and green workforce
Recruitment styles: Transactional vs relational models
How to increase job retention
Ways to find motivated candidates
The #1 tip that can get you that green job that you REALLY want
Advice to make a transition from the corporate world into a green career
Will robots take our jobs? What are robots and AI missing in a future workforce

This is episode 1 of the Green Workforce: stay tuned for part two of the Green Workforce during episode 3, with Emily Shapira of the Philadelphia Energy Authority.

About Dan Smolen
At the start of 2018, Dan Smolen turned off the lights at his executive recruitment firm, The Green Suits, LLC, and ended his headhunting career. After a rewarding 20-year-run career of placing hundreds of best-match professionals within client companies, Smolen recognized that even his most successful job placements did not guarantee the long-term happiness of the parties involved in the process, especially the placed candidates. Dan’s new purpose is to help workers like his former clients and candidates, but also thousands of others, follow their dreams to do meaningful work. Meaningful work is profound. It protects the planet, empowers people, and is fun. The Dan Smolen Experience provides thought-leadership through several channels, including:

The Tightrope with Dan Smolen Podcast (Available on Apple Podcasts and other channels);
Book Authorship, and;
Speaking Engagements

Dan Smolen, Founder & Executive Producer, The Dan Smolen Experience, LLC
dsmolen@dansmolen.com
http://www.thegreensuits.com

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

For more information on City Rising, visit greenphillyblog.com/podcast

City Rising: Season Trailer Aug 14, 2018

Co-hosts Julie Hancher and Brady Halligan introduce City Rising a new podcast about how cities are working on climate solutions.

City Rising is hosted by Green Philly and The GREEN Program.

For more information on City Rising, visit greenphillyblog.com/podcast.

Email your feedback and questions to contact@greenphillyblog.com.

Season One of City Rising is supported by the Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP). Visit www.CUSPproject.org for more info.

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