Home » How We Think » Three Ps » Green City On A Blue Lake
LeBron James and the Cavs were not able to bring a championship to Cleveland. And no other major sports team in Cleveland has been able to do it for 50 years. Maybe professional sports is not really the way forward.
Some in Cleveland are putting a lot of faith in sustainability – engaging the region’s 1.6 million people in “building an economic engine to create a green city on a blue lake.”
For more information on what’s going on in Cleveland – non-sports-wise – check out:
New video from Sustainable Cleveland 2019
The Cleveland Commitment, available for download and signature by individuals and families
City of Cleveland’s new sustainability Web site
Sustainable Cleveland 2019 blog
Sustainability – can it make us a winner? What’s more important – the journey or the destination?
Cleveland sports teams are not known for finishing in first place. But, when it comes to being a sustainable city, Mayor Frank Jackson insists that “Cleveland can and will be the first and we will do it best.”
The mayor, who is just starting his second term, envisions a 10-year effort to create “Sustainable Cleveland 2019: Building an Economic Engine to Empower a Green City on a Blue Lake.” It’s catchy and the ThreePs are well represented: People (city), Planet (green city on a blue lake), and Profit (economic engine).
The playbook has been written and it’s now available online in the form of the final report from this year’s first Cleveland sustainability summit. Here, you’ll find 28 key initiatives (think of them as offensive plays), covering everything from advanced energy, green building and communications, to local foods, transportation and “waste to profit.”
By putting out such a complete report, it’s open for all to see, evaluate and use. This, of course, means that even competing cities have the benefit of the same playbook – call it leveling the playing the field or sharing the wealth.
Quality of ideas is important, but it only gets you so far. At some point – in Cleveland’s case, that’s the next nine and a half years – the winner is decided by the determination of the players and the excellence in execution. In a city where “wait ‘til next year” is a familiar refrain, the building and rebuilding begin immediately, and we have until 2019 to get it right.
Corporate Cleveland, government agencies, local institutions and nonprofits have high hopes for the upcoming Cleveland sustainability summit, which will be held August 12 – 14 in downtown Cleveland. The event and the action items that come out of the event are designed with one goal in mind: “building an economic engine to empower a green city on a blue lake (Lake Erie).”
Energy and environmental lawyer Dave Nash of McMahon DeGulis believes a commitment to sustainability is “the best hope to turn around the Great Lakes economy.” Clearly, everyone knows it won’t be easy, as the goal is to create and begin implementing a 10-year plan.
The program will include keynote addresses by CEOs, city officials, institutional leaders and others; roundtables and group exercises involving people from all walks of life; and a mix of soul-searching and big dreaming.
Everyone there will be looking and listening for the big ideas, but hopefully never losing sight of the devil in the details and the execution of day-to-day activities that drive long-term success. Communicating goals, programs, progress and next steps will be critical; ignoring the communications challenges and opportunities would be fatal.
Registration for the event is still open if you’re interested in joining us.
