We’re in for GWC 4.0! Posted on June 14, 2016 by wpengine GTECH Strategies is excited to participate again in the Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge, a local competition put on by Sustainable Pittsburgh to recognize and encourage sustainable achievements by businesses and organizations. Even though we have a green and healthy environment in mind when designing our projects, the Green Workplace challenge encouraged us to look internally at our office behaviors and policies and make them even greener. If you remember last year, GTECH’s hard work and dedication led us to victory…Read More
Using Community Input and Data to Make Informed Decisions Posted on June 10, 2016 by wpengine Some of the many things we love here at GTECH include community input, innovative solutions, working with great people to improve our region's community and environmental health, data, and transforming liabilities into assets. For these reasons and many more, we were very excited to partner recently with Economic Development South (EDS) and the Saw Mill Run Watershed Association (SMRWA) to conduct a Green Boulevard Property Acquisition Study along Route 51 and Library Road. The long-term vision for the Green Boulevard…Read More
Homewood Greening Projects Update Posted on June 7, 2016 by wpengine Our projects in Homewood have been taking off this spring! We are excited to show off our hard work and to give a big thank you to all who have volunteered thus far. As a recap, Operation Better Block (OBB) is working on a Neighborhood Partnership Program called the Homewood Cluster Plan. We're working with OBB to help with the transformation of five vacant lots in key locations to become green gateways to the community. There has been a lot of activity…Read More
World Environment Day Posted on June 3, 2016 by Grounded Strategies This year's World Environment Day is on Sunday, June 5th. This year, it's hosted by Angola, with the theme "fight against the illegal trade in wildlife" Sure, that sounds great, you might be thinking, but we don't have lions or elephants here to protect. How is this stuff related to me? But World Environment Day is more than celebrities imploring you to stop buying ivory. At its core, World Environment Day is about realizing nature's beautiful bounty and making sure that…Read More
Find Your Greenspace on Lots to Love Posted on June 1, 2016 by wpengine The warm weather appears to be here to stay and it is not too late to put your green thumbs to use! Don't have the outdoor space to accommodate a garden? Check out Lots to Love and find a lot in need of your attention. Lots to Love is a online tool designed to equip Pittsburgh residents with the resources they need to navigate and utilize vacant land in their neighborhoods. We see such parcels of land not as a waste of…Read More
What Prompted AE Works to B the Change & Become a B Corp? Posted on May 27, 2016 by wpengine Pittsburgh is home to four B Corps, businesses that have taken social and environmental factors into their business plans. With a traditional business, shareholders can challenge management decisions to maximize profits. When a business becomes a B Corp, shareholders no longer have that legal authority. This is a fascinating way to structure a corporation and often attracts shareholders despite the diminished power they wield. The GTECH Social Capital Council is a cadre of energetic and socially-conscious professionals who actively support and…Read More
Circle Economy Follow Up Posted on May 23, 2016 by Grounded Strategies If you need a quick primer on the Circle Economy - check out this video that Andre shared Rethinking progress: the Circular Economy. The circular economy can be applied to help communities minimize waste, maximize value creation, and generate new opportunity for prosperity. -Andre Struker The circular economy is all about closing resource loops, mimicking natural ecosystems in the way we organize our society and businesses. Andre Struker, Strategic Advisor to Amsterdam's water utility Waternet, came to Pittsburgh to share his expertise on how the facility's…Read More
Volunteer 10 minutes to refine routes for the Northside trail Posted on May 20, 2016 by Grounded Strategies Over the past four months, GTECH and One Northside have been working on a plan for a neighborhood trail system that would connect all 18 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh's Northside and show off the amazing destinations in each. Opinion polls done by One Northside showed that Northsiders want safe connections between neighborhoods, and want their side of the city to be known as a hub for arts and culture. Once you get visitors walking around the Northside, it's easy to show…Read More
PCRG Mobile Workshop Recap Posted on May 19, 2016 by Grounded Strategies PCRG's Community Development Summit took place this week. The topic this year was Power of Place. GTECH, along with our partners - Propel Schools, Healthy Ride, Manchester Growing Together Garden, and One Northside - hosted a mobile workshop: It Takes a Village: Addressing Vacancy Through Community Partnerships in Pittsburgh’s Northside. There’s lots to love, because lots need love. And you can see it happening by bike! The tour highlighted some of GTECH’s work with key partners over the past 3-5 years in Pittsburgh’s…Read More
19 Reasons You Should Help Us Plan A Northside Trail System This Week Posted on May 16, 2016 by wpengine Imagine an urban trail system that connected Northside residents and visitors to all that the Northside has to offer.... We're honored and delighted to be working with One Northside on initial planning efforts for an urban trail system in the Northside. Since January, we've been conducting some foundational planning work such as benchmarking of other successful urban trail systems, presenting the concept at community meetings, identifying potential funding sources, and developing draft routes which maximize neighborhood and asset connectivity. Now…Read More
Citymart Posted on May 12, 2016 by Grounded Strategies Citymart was not a real store - I knew that much. But I didn’t really understand the name until I dug a little deeper. Browse around the organization’s website and you may come across this passage: “Citymart partners with cities to rethink their spending habits so they focus on what problems they need to solve instead of what things they want to buy. Cities will spend money in better ways, create new opportunities for local businesses, and find the best…Read More
We asked a bunch of 3rd graders…. Posted on May 6, 2016 by Grounded Strategies ...what they would do with a greenplayce. Part of what makes our Green Playces program so neat is our community driven design process. So we asked a class of third graders from McKeesport what they would like out of a greenplayce. We weren't really sure what we would get back. The results were pretty tremendous. We got letters from each student, and pictures from some. They described classes they would like to have outside, opportunities for education outside the classroom…Read More