From left: Barbara Kviz, accepting for Carnegie Mellon Green Practices Committee; Gary Jay Saulson, Director of Corporate Real Estate for PNC Financial Services Group; Ann Gerace, Executive Director of Conservation Consultants, Inc.; Bob Kobet, President of Sustainaissance International; Joan Blaustein, accepting for the 3 Rivers Wet Weather team.

The Green Building Alliance announced the winners of its first Shades of Green Leadership Award that recognizes the contributions of individuals and organizations to sustainable building and community design.  The winners are:

Carnegie Mellon Green Practices Committee (originally the Environmental Practices Committee) was established to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and energy conservation program at Carnegie Mellon University. This unique committee is comprised of faculty, staff and students from many disciplines across campus, and focuses on a wide range of university-related environmental issues, including recycling, purchasing, energy use, dining, buildings and construction, transportation, and communications and outreach. The diversity of expertise and experience among the committee members results in innovative collaboration, teamwork and successes that may not otherwise be achieved.

Gary Jay Saulson, Director of Corporate Real Estate, PNC Financial Services Group: PNC Realty Services is a team of real estate professionals, facility managers, transaction specialists and technology experts led by Gary Jay Saulson, Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Real Estate. Under his guidance, the group established a green vision with the development of their first LEED certified building, the PNC Firstside Center, which was completed in 2001 and received a Silver rating. It was designed to be both energy-efficient and employee-friendly. Beyond that, six retail branch banks in Ohio, northern New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania are also LEED Registered or Certified. PNC is currently engaged in an aggressive expansion of its network and over 50 new branches will be completed with the existing PNC footprint, all built to LEED standards, during 2005 and 2006.

Ann Gerace, Executive Director, Conservation Consultants, Inc.: The driving force behind Conservation Consultants, Inc., Ann Gerace has been at the helm of the environmental organization since 1990. She had worked as an educator and auditor for CCI several prior to that. Under her guidance, the organization purchased and renovated an 80-year-old former commercial building on Pittsburgh's South Side in 1993 for its growing staff. Consistent with its mission of preserving Western Pennsylvania's resources, CCI retrofitted its new headquarters (The CCI Center) by using environmentally friendly building materials. The Center is used regularly as a teaching tool to complement middle and high school science curriculums. Through its award-winning Green Neighborhood Services program, CCI partners with utility companies, community development corporations and others to create sustainable communities. Its Energy Education programs are designed to foster environmental awareness, increase energy education and cultivate resource conservation. Lastly, its eSmart3 Energy Services program offers energy audits for homes and businesses.

3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Project: The deteriorated state of the Pittsburgh region's sewage infrastructure is creating unsafe and unhealthy conditions in our streams and rivers. The sewage collection system within the ALCOSAN service area is an integrated network of systems that have evolved over more than 100 years. Adding to the complexity of the problem is the number of municipalities and authorities (83 total) involved, each owning a piece of the total sewage system. As little as one-tenth of an inch of rain-an average Pittsburgh rainfall is one-quarter inch-can cause raw sewage to overflow into the region's rivers and streams and backup into homeowners' basements. Melting snow can cause the same effect. These consequences can last for days and pose a public health risk. Not only can exposure to disease-causing organisms cause sicknesses or death, but Pittsburgh's three rivers serve as the main source of drinking water for 90% of Allegheny County residents.

Bob Kobet, President, Sustainaissance International: Kobet’s individual impact on the built environment is extremely difficult to measure since it spans numerous categories and several decades. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science in Sustainable Systems (MS3) from Slippery Rock University, a degree he was instrumental in creating and which received the first Three Rivers Award for Environmental Education in 1994. He wrote the curriculum for the Built Environment track of the MS3 program, and designed and participated in the construction of the Robert A. Macosky Center for Sustainable Design and Research-the nucleus of SRU's MS3 program-for his master's thesis. Bob is currently the president of Sustainaissance International, a consulting firm specializing in sustainable design and development, high performance architecture, and environmental education. Company projects include individual building and sustainable community work in the U.S., China, Haiti, Eastern Europe and Africa.

The Shades of Green Leadership Award is designed to highlight the efforts of a distinctive person or team within the built environment who: demonstrates a visionary impact on the greening of Greater Pittsburgh through work on buildings, developments, infrastructure or other built factors of our environment; possesses proven leadership skills that exhibit creativity and innovative results; diligently partners with others in the region to facilitate positive change; and consistently influences others to improve the environment

5/20/2005