Sen. Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny), Carnegie Mellon University architecture professor Stephen Lee and PPG Industries researcher Mike Rupert have been named winners of the 2007 Shades of Green Leadership Awards.

Presented by the Green Building Alliance, the awards recognize individuals in Western Pennsylvania who have contributed to the region's environmental transformation through green leadership within the built environment.

Winners will be honored during a luncheon at the Green$ense 2007 conference March 15 at the Westin Convention Center Hotel.

Sen. Ferlo, winner in the government category, led the creation of the Allegheny River Towns Enterprise Zone, which addresses industrial blight and encourages brownfields redevelopment in Aspinwall, Blawnox, Etna, Millvale, O'Hara, Shaler and Sharpsburg.

Sen. Ferlo also helped organize the Vandergrift Improvement Program, a group devoted to historical preservation and incorporating sustainability into community initiatives. For the past two years, Ferlo has sponsored a forum with state, county and city officials to discuss the challenges and opportunities in sustainability.

Lee, winner in the non-profit category, has been an advocate for green building since his undergraduate days at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied inner-city energy efficiency projects in South Oakland and Manchester.

Now a professor in CMU's School of Architecture, a member of the research faculty at its Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics and director of the Master's of Science in Sustainable Design program, Lee serves as faculty chair for the university's green practices committee.

He is also faculty adviser for CMU's entries in the Solar Decathlon, a competition conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy to design, build and operate energy-efficient, solar-powered homes. Lee and his wife have been creating sustainable urban architecture in Pittsburgh for more than 25 years.

Winner in the business category, Rupert is director of technical services and product development for PPG's Performance Glazings business, where he led the team of scientists, technicians and engineers that developed Solarban 70 XL solar-control low-e glass.

According to U.S. Department of Energy modeling software, substituting Solarban 70 XL glass in place of the next-highest-performing solar control low-e glass on a standard, glass-walled, eight-story office building can cut annual energy costs by 6.6 percent, or more than $40,000 per year, based on 2006 energy rates. PPG's new, energy- saving glass product is featured in the Special Events Pavilion at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

"These three individuals represent the vision, leadership, innovation and ability to collaborate and influence others that have become the hallmarks of the Shades of Green Leadership Award," said Marco Cardamone, a board member of the Green Building Alliance and a member of jury that selected this year's winners. "Their programs, policies and initiatives are making a lasting and profound impact on green building in our region."

Green$ense 2007: Show Me the Money! is the premier conference on green building for the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic regions. The one-day conference highlights case studies and strategies in green building, and features nationally recognized experts among its speakers.

The Shades of Green Leadership Awards are presented annually at the Green$ense conference. Other activities include exhibit booths displaying green building products and afternoon tours of Pittsburgh-area green buildings.

To register or to obtain more information, call 412-431-0709 or visit the Green$ense 2007: Show Me the Money! Conference webpage

3/9/2007