July 2008: I’m driving home with my colleague and we uncover the shocking secret that our employer is gathering the recycling bins and dumping them into the trash.

2008: Mayor Nutter becomes Mayor of Philadelphia and shortly after creates the Greenworks Initiative to make Philadelphia the most sustainability city in the USA.

Coincidence?!? I think not…. but what does this have to do with SustainPHL?

OK, so we may need a little more time before Philadelphia is the most sustainable city. But as we’ve been watching and writing about Philadelphia become more sustainable, there are amazing milestones. And we realized two things:

1. Not many people were aware of Philadelphia’s collective accomplishments
2. A lot of the awesome sustainability community could be collaborating more.

We wanted to create an event to address these two issues. Celebrate what Philadelphia HAS accomplished. Connect people for collaboration. Learn where to become more involved in their city. Hear about how Philadelphia’s the Silicon Valley of green stormwater infrastructure. Incorporate a sustainable initiative in their lives. Or become a volunteer in one of the amazing organizations making Philadelphia more sustainable.

And why not dress up, eat and drink delicious local creations AND have fun while doing it?

SustainPHL won’t just celebrate recycling and reducing CO2 emissions. After all, we celebrate all the tiny changes you can make on the blog. We’ll highlight people are who are changing their communities – and block by block, make Philly a little more sustainable.

You have one week to submit your SustainPHL nominations. (You are welcome to send more than one!)

We can’t wait to see all of the inspirational stories of Philadelphia.

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Julie Hancher is the co-founder and Executive Director of Green Philly, an independent media organization making sustainability accessible, affordable and actionable. Since launching Green Philly in 2008, she has grown it from a passion project into a leading voice for local climate storytelling, pairing impactful journalism with community events and experiences. Julie is a frequent speaker on climate, media innovation and the future of local journalism, and is the creator of SustainPHL and EcoFair. Outside of Green Philly, you can find her hiking, biking, traveling, or exploring Philadelphia. View all posts by Julie Hancher