Green Philly 2017 Recap

Can you believe 2017 is almost complete?

(And we survived!) This was quite the big year for Green Philly, as we kicked off our Beyond the Blog panel series and had another successful SustainPHL, honoring 10 local changemakers.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane for 2017.

Green Philly: 2017 in Review

January

Can we reflect on how this event carried throughout the year? We kicked off the year by attending the Women’s March on Washington for the climate. Women empowerment continued throughout the year, eventually with Time Magazine’s #MeToo women ending up on the cover.

March

We kicked off our Beyond the Blog series with a Careers in Sustainability Panel featuring Jamie Gauthier (Fairmount Park Conservancy), Megan Maltenfort (Campbell Soup Company), Melissa Lee (The GREEN Progam) & Dominic McGraw (Office of Sustainability). Attendees heard about careers in all sectors – private, non-profit, entrepreneurial & city.

April

We covered the People’s Climate March on Washington as many concerned with sustainability infiltrated the nation’s capital.

May

We headed to Detroit for a taste of the Good Life, the Sustainable Brands conference. Highlights included learning from national sustainability leaders and seeing Detroit’s revitalization with the local food and urban farming movement.

June

Our informative Energy Panel shared how to maximize energy efficiency in the office and at home. We learned tips useful for both individuals and businesses, thanks to speakers Paul Spiegel (President, Practical Energy Solutions), Alex Dews (Director, Green Building United), Andrew Kirchner (Sr. Director of Product, Inspire), Micah Gold-Markel (Solar States) and Amanda Warwood (Energy Analyst, City of Philadelphia Energy Office).

August

The second annual SustainPHL recognized 30 changemakers and honored 10 award recipients for their sustainability work.

Caption: Soil generation

Personally, I ventured cross-country via train after SustainPHL for a breather.

September

Our Beyond the Blog featured back to school! Our Graduate School & Careers in Sustainability panel featured Beth Termini, Amtrak; Rob Fleming, Jefferson; Damali Rhett, The Energy Co-Op & Dan Garofalo, University of Pennsylvania.

October

We made the cover of Philly Weekly, featured as a“big fist in the fight for a more sustainable Philadelphia!” What a cool and funny change to be the ones featured (versus behind the scenes).

We took a detour to Atlanta for the Net Impact Conference to catch the latest sustainability trends in businesses. From transparency to responding to consumer demands, private companies are increasing their impact standards – and talking about it.

November

The youngest volunteer

Our November Fall Harvest Happy Hour featured six local nonprofits that attendees could become involved with. (Here are ways you can get involved, too!) At the end of the event, we picked Philadelphia Orchard Project’s name out of a hat and donated the event proceeds to them.

We also debuted our FREE Philadelphia Recycling Guide. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, download it here (or purchase one on recycled paper).

December

We’ve been a little quiet as we plan 2018 events and more exciting projects (that we’ll announce… soon.)

Most importantly – we owe a huge thank you to you, our dear readers! And there are more of you.

If you have suggestions, requests for stories or ideas for 2018 – we want to hear them. Tell us here.

Julie Hancher

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake.