University of Pittsburgh
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

The University of Pittsburgh works through its Office of Community and Governmental Relations (CGR) to advocate for sustainability projects by supporting legislation, ordinances, and direct partnerships with the City of Pittsburgh that benefit the city as well as the University. CGR advances a two-way flow of information between the University of Pittsburgh and government representatives at the city, county, state, and federal levels of government – and acts as the primary liaison between Pitt and local government offices for the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Pitt Sustainability staff collaborate regularly with CGR staff on governmental relations at all scales and CGR staff sit on various Pitt Sustainability governing bodies (including the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability and the Campus Tree Advisory Committee), which help them advocate for sustainability in local policy.

In 2021-23, the University of Pittsburgh continued to publicly support and directly engage with 2 City of Pittsburgh sustainability programs that help inform local public policy 1) the greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans and policies laid out in the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan 3.0 and 2) annual compliance with and leadership support of the City’s Building Benchmarking Ordinance.

The University of Pittsburgh engages in sustainability-focused and related public policy advocacy, support, and partnership at the regional and state level in a variety of ways, all of which could not be captured below; however, select examples include:

CONNECT
An ever-evolving initiative of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), the Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT) serves as a policy think tank comprising of neighboring municipalities in Allegheny County. CONNECT members share resources, research, and opportunities to champion environmental and economic development for the benefit of the region. CONNECT has two sustainability-related Working Groups, supported by Pitt faculty, staff, and students in 2021-23: 1) Economic & Environmental Development Working Group and 2) Infrastructure & Utilities Coordination Working Group.

In the last few years, CONNECT advocated for 9 communities in the region to inventory their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and helped developed individualized plans to guide future emissions reductions in their jurisdictions (Carnegie, Etna, Forest Hills, Millvale, Munhall, Sharpsburg, Swissvale, West Homestead, and the City of Pittsburgh).

Building on that work, in 2022, CONNECT adopted the first CONNECT Climate Action Plan to engage, empower, and advocate for its member municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to regional climate impacts. Alongside climate change, CONNECT members focus on other sustainability topics, including lead safety, recycling, stormwater, transit, and more.

More about CONNECT - https://www.connect.pitt.edu/

MARSHALL PLAN FOR MIDDLE AMERICA (MP4MA)
In November 2020, the City of Pittsburgh launched the Marshall Plan for Middle America (MP4MA) – a policy-based strategy focused on how the Ohio Valley could become a global leader in clean energy and circular economy by building a regional, multi-sectoral coalition to drive investment in infrastructure and energy diversification. The primary author of this document is the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Sustainable Business (CSB).

In 2021, the MP4MA was globally recognized in 2021 with second place in the international Climate Challenge Cup City of Pittsburgh. Pitt CSB has worked to share the MP4MA globally at conferences, including at the 2022 Global Clean Energy Action Forum. The MP4MA team has collaborated on a number of convenings and events attended by local elected officials and others, which included both just energy transition policy and projects; these include the 2021 MP4MA Summit with Resilient Cities Catalyst focused on accelerating regional MP4MA projects towards implementation.

>>Climate Challenge Cup - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/marshall-plan-for-middle-america-awarded-second-place-in-international-climate-challenge-cup/
>> 2021 MP4MA Summit - https://www.rcc.city/mp4ma

WATER COLLABORATORY – Founded in 2017, Pitt’s Pittsburgh Collaboratory for Water Research, Education, and Outreach aspires to elevate water resource sustainability and resilience through research collaborations, communicating knowledge, and innovating solutions.

Since 2018, the Collaboratory has conducted extensive outreach to gauge regional research needs to help advocate for policies in respect to water quality, green infrastructure, and flooding. The published reports and results of this research influences local, regional, and national water policy, including via reports, water briefings, and partnered undergraduate research. The Collaboratory has worked to directly educate elected officials at the local, state, and federal level on water resource sustainability issues within the Ohio River Basin to inform policy development and decision-making.

Recent Water Collaboratory reports include:

1) Pittsburgh's Three Rivers and Their Tributaries – This interactive 2023 website report is the culmination of a yearslong data collection effort, resulting from a lack of previous data on legacy contamination from historical industrial pollution and water quality in tributaries draining to the Three Rivers. The team of Pitt researchers collected 100 samples from 25 locations from the tributaries that feed the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny rivers from August 2021 to May 2022. Report results directly inform local water quality policies.
>>> Three Rivers & Tributary Water Quality Report - https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0fbfba3b67af40dc8a01e0a95cc08a06
2) Measuring Up: Grading Drinking Water Quality, Affordability, & Transparency Practices in Allegheny County Water Systems - This joint project between the Water Collaboratory and Women for a Healthy Environment determined that fragmentation, a lack of transparency and insufficient affordability protections are barriers to equitable access to clean water throughout Allegheny County. Researchers issued report cards to each of the county’s 36 independent water systems based on transparency, affordability protections and drinking water quality. The report concluded that most water systems could improve by providing more information on affordability protections and adding ways for citizens to engage in decision-making. The report also highlights the need to allocate significant resources at the state and federal level to address aging infrastructure and lead service line replacements to ensure clean drinking water.
>>> Measuring Up Report - https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e014e480381d4c6894bbd7fe0894d84c

Water Collaboratory Briefings provide the community with educational resources on water-related topics, which in turn can help influence future practice and policy. In 2021 through 2023, these briefings included:
1) 2023 - Southwest Pennsylvania Train Accidents 2011-2022, https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2023-04/Trains_briefing_final.pdf
2) 2022 - How Does Stream Burial Affect Water Runoff?, https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2022-06/Forgrave_Briefing.pdf
3) 2021 - In the Fight Against Tooth Decay: May the Fluoride Be With You!, https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2021-09/Fluoridation_Briefing_Final.pdf

In 2021 and 2022, the Water Collaboratory published several undergraduate research reports in partnership with a partner organization that interacts with water systems; many of these reports ultimate influence local water policy and practice. These reports included:
1) Acid Mine Drainage and the Chalfant Run/Thompson Run Watershed (2022, Andrew Clarke + Chalfant/Thompson Run Watershed Association), https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0c55940b39104493bedb033cedeb776b
2) Analysis of Water Quality at Fern Hollow Creek during construction of Fern Hollow Bridge (2022, Sumana Murugan + Upstream Pittsburgh), https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2008c8eccb5b43a9a83f15cb12cf0a69
3) River Color and Quality Changes in the Greater Pittsburgh Region (2021, Aaron Carr + Partner: 3 Rivers Waterkeeper), https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2021-10/ExecSum_AaronCarr_Final.pdf
4) Recommendations for Pittsburgh City Council: On Affordable Housing & Floodwater Mitigation Strategies (2021, Justin Fekete + City of Pittsburgh Councilman Daniel Lavelle's Office), https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2021-10/Fekete_Executive_Summary.pdf
5) Spatial Analysis of Nutrient Waste Discharged at Combined Sewer Overflows (2021, Taylor Laing + 3 Rivers Waterkeeper), https://www.water.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/2021-09/Laing_Final_Executive_Summary.pdf

Across Pitt, the Collaboratory has over 35 faculty affiliates from diverse disciplines, who help elevate water resource sustainability and resilience by fostering research collaborations, communicating knowledge, innovating solutions, and improving the health of the Upper Ohio River basin. The Collaboratory is actively working on uniting faculty, students, agencies, and community partners within research initiatives focusing on drinking water equity, ecological modeling, landslides, water infrastructure and quality , and public health.

MOMENTUM GRANTS – The University of Pittsburgh’s internal research funding is dubbed “Pitt Momentum Funds,” focused on seeding, teaming, and scaling grants. Recent regional interdisciplinary sustainability-focused and policy-influencing projects have included including:

1) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: Detailed in the “Equity & Access” section of this report, the Center for Healthy Environments and Equity Research (CHEER) is a multidisciplinary, intersectional, and community-based research project funded by a 2022 Pitt Momentum grant. CHEER is addressing extensive environmental health disparities with faculty in Public Health, Engineering, and Geology & Environmental Sciences in partnership with Allegheny County Health Department.
2) WATER EQUITY: The Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory led a successful 2021 Pitt Momentum Funds Teaming Grant focused on water quality, affordability and practice transparency in Allegheny County (Measuring Up: Grading Drinking Water Quality, Affordability, & Transparency Practices in Allegheny County Water Systems), which included research faculty from Geology & Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, GSPIA and Sociology alongside the local nonprofit Women for a Healthy Environment.

MILLION ADVOCATES FOR SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE – In May 2023, the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Sustainability become an Organizational Signatory for the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science campaign — a movement with the goal of driving systemic change, embedding expectations for efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability in scientific research, and minimizing its environmental footprint.

The University’s Office of Sustainability supported this national campaign for systemic change in global science funding, helping scientists and others take action to improve and implement sustainability, resource efficiency, and resiliency within research laboratories.

Letter signatories want to see the scientific field lead the world to a better climate future -- and are requesting action by research funders to set expectations for efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability in the way scientific research is conducted.
>>> https://www.sustainablescienceadvocates.org/

BETTER CLIMATE CHALLENGE - In December 2023, the University of Pittsburgh joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Climate Challenge (BCC), committing to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 50% over a 10-year period. This commitment required the signature of senior University leadership and reflects existing Pitt Climate Action and Sustainability Plan goals and progress, while also placing emphasis on categories of future opportunity and improvement, specifically building energy use and efficiency, vehicle fleet efficiency and electrification, and renewable electricity production and procurement.

Pitt is now a proud and public member of the BCC network of market leaders stepping forward to work with DOE to plan for reduce GHG emissions and share replicable pathways to decarbonization, helping create jobs and promote healthy, safe, and thriving communities. By joining the BBC network and publicizing the commitment, Pitt continues to advocate for more stringent and faster climate action and policies.
Announcement >> https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/awards/doe-better-climate-challenge/
https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/climate-challenge

The University of Pittsburgh engages in sustainability-focused and related public policy advocacy, support, and partnership at the international level in a variety of means, a few of which are highlighted below.

INCLUSIVE INNOVATION & THE UN'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

From 2018 through 2023, Pitt’s European Studies Center (ESC) worked to strengthen research and to teach actions on transatlantic, urban, and energy policy studies among the University of Pittsburgh (USA), Newcastle University (United Kingdom), University Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne (France), and Sciences Po Lyon (France). Funded by the European Union, Pitt hosted workshops focused on cities and energy, including a Summer 2022 conference focused on assessing lessons learned in just energy transitions in the EU and the U.S (including policy considerations for both geographies).
>> TPEC - https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/about/funded-programs-and-grants/tpec
>>TPEC Energy Stream 2 Activities: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/about/funded-programs-and-grants/tpec/cities/stream-two-activities

Building off of the 3-year Jean Monnet Network grant from the European Union (above), Pitt has leveraged strategic international partnerships to advance research on inclusive innovation linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, a partnership between researchers at Pitt and Newcastle University in the United Kingdom explored strategies for university-led development of innovation districts and cultural districts that promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Many of these conversations focused on SDG-related policies in the two geographies and included elected officials from both the U.S. and U.K. From this partnership based upon a shared legacy and post-industrial economy, the project is expanding to new partners in post-conflict economies (Medellin, Colombia (in progress); Belfast, Ireland (starting in 2024); rural economies (TBD); post natural-disaster economies (likely Haiti and Christchurch, New Zealand), and Island Economies.

CLIMATE CHANGE & SMALL ISLAND NATIONS

In 2022, Dr. David Sanchez (CEE, MCSI) explored sustainability challenges for Pacific Island Nations in Micronesia in collaboration with the IPIKU government, and educational and nonprofit leaders from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and Guam. In 2021, they hosted an international webinar series on “Climate Change as a National Security Issues for Small Island Nations” featuring world-renowned government leaders, climate envoys, climate scientists, and environmental lawyers discussing the challenges facing Pacific islands in Micronesia. Efforts also included in-person meetings and policy discussions in Guam with elected officials. This work was funded by a 2-year Global Academic Partnership grant from Pitt’s Global Studies Center and the Office of the Provost.

>> 2018 – 22 Progress Report on the Pitt Sustainability Plan, Global Partnerships Section - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/progress-report/global-outreach-2018-22/

UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (UCIS) – UCIS leads Pitt’s comprehensive international engagement process by engaging both internal and external stakeholders (including international institutional partners, alumni, elected officials, community leaders, and prospective students). Given global concerns, sustainability is at the heart and related to several of UCIS’s engagements (several of which are related to public policy), with select highlights below. In addition, Pitt’s Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs is an active participant in international work to advance the SDGs, including as part of the 2024 World Sustainable Development Summit.

Pitt’s Global Studies Center (GSC) promotes critical thinking and practical engagement with the world through the interdisciplinary study of globalization- fostering innovative research and collaborations with community partners locally and around the world, that inform policy. Current research and policy-focused thrusts (which inform public policy evolution and creation) include: Global Loss in the Anthropocene; Global Migrations; Cities in Transformation (with focus on culture, economics, sustainability, and health); and Global Health.

Pitt’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) coordinates and develops scholarship, teaching, and community events related to Latin America and the Caribbean. The new Amazonian Studies Initiative will impact international policy as Pitt works to promote research and expertise on the Amazon in a consortium with universities and communities within the Amazon basin in order to serve as a hemispheric resource for the general public, scholars, and policy-makers.

>>> UCIS: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/main/resources-global-engagement
>>> Pitt GSC: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global
>>> Pitt CLAS: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas

November 22, 2023 - Chancellor Gabel on Higher Education’s Role in Keeping America Competitive
Joan Gabel speaks about emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and driving innovation in education in a video released by the Council on Competitiveness.
https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/gabel-council-competitiveness-education

October 12, 2023 - A Message From Chancellor Gabel
Joan Gabel updates the University community on Pitt’s response to the terrorist attack in Israel.
https://www.chancellor.pitt.edu/spotlights/message-chancellor-gabel-0

October 10, 2023 - A Message From Chancellor Gabel
Joan Gabel shares resources for students, faculty and staff affected by the violence in Israel and Gaza.
https://www.chancellor.pitt.edu/spotlights/message-chancellor-gabel-1

April 11, 2023 - Pitt’s Response to Recent Threats
Learn how the University is responding to and preparing for disinformation attacks.
https://www.former-chancellor-gallagher.pitt.edu/spotlight/pitt-s-response-recent-threats

April 20, 2021 - Message Regarding the Chauvin Verdict
Pitt leaders emphasize the urgency to address systemic racism and share support resources for the University community.
https://www.former-chancellor-gallagher.pitt.edu/spotlight/message-regarding-chauvin-verdict

January 6, 2021 - Statement Following Day of Violence at U.S. Capitol
Chancellor Gallagher denounces acts of sedition and violence at the U.S. Capitol Building.
https://www.former-chancellor-gallagher.pitt.edu/spotlight/statement-following-day-violence-us-capitol

PITT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL ENGAGEMENT: The University of Pittsburgh was a founding university member of U.S. Sustainable Development Solutions Network in 2018, collaborating with institutions nationally and internationally on achieving the global sustainable development goals (SDGs), which require many policy collaborations.

In 2022, Pitt’s Executive Director of Sustainability, Dr. Aurora Sharrard, provided peer review feedback on the U.S. SDSN’s “A Guide to Regional Decarbonization: Frameworks for public policy leaders and sustainability practitioners to create pathways to net zero across the US and globally.”
>> Link to USSDSN Guide to Regional Decarbonization, including Sharrard reference (page 3) - https://irp.cdn-website.com/6f2c9f57/files/uploaded/A_Guide_to_Regional_Decarbonization.pdf