The 8th annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit wrapped up today. The two-day event, hosted by the city of Cleveland, provides opportunities for participants to learn about and build on environmentally friendly renewable processes. WKSU’s Kevin Niedermier reports on some of what the summits have contributed since the beginning in 2009.
Matt Gray is director of Cleveland’s Office of Sustainability. He says over the years many ideas have been conceived at the summits, including the experimental wind turbine project underway in Lake Erie. And, he says several smaller concepts have blossomed into businesses, like the Upcycle Parts Shop.
“And they do a lot of great work about engaging the community around reusing waste and turning that into beautiful art in many ways. Another example is the Cleveland Water Alliance. This group formed out of the summit and now they’re engaging the entire Northeast Ohio around really this blue economy, how can we use our water resources to create economic advantage in Cleveland.”
This year’s theme was sustainable transportation. The summit kicked off with the official rollout of UH Bikes, a sharing program sponsored by University Hospitals with 250 bikes that can be rented and picked up and dropped off at 29 stations across Cleveland.
