Recap from the 11th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit

Celebrating 10 Years. Building the Future.

Thanks to all who joined us for the 11th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit on October 16, 2019. Over 500 residents, local businesses, and sustainability leaders from all walks of life participated in this continuing effort to develop a thriving and resilient Cleveland region.

The 2019 Summit marked the Culmination of Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 10-year initiative. We honored the many people and organizations that have gotten us this far, while also building off this foundation for even greater progress. The Summit included remarks from Mayor Frank Jackson, keynote presentations, recognition and awards, facilitated discussions on key priorities going forward, and much more:

Circular Economy - Addressing recycling challenges while also laying the groundwork to become a national leader in the circular economy through reuse, sharing, repair & remanufacturing.
100% Renewable Energy - Transitioning toward 100% renewable electricity while fighting poverty and creating opportunity.
Trees & Green Spaces- Providing access to trees and vibrant green space for all Clevelanders.
Vision Zero & Sustainable Transportation - Advancing safe, equitable, and sustainable transportation throughout Cleveland.
Clean Water - Building off the success of Cuyahoga50 to create greater access to our most valuable asset...water.
The Movement - Looking Beyond 2019, what's next for engaging Clevelanders in sustainability and climate action.

We had five dynamic keynote speakers this year presenting on various topics such as transportation, circular economy, and climate change.

Transportation Keynotes

Dr. Richard Ezike, Senior Policy Associate with the Urban Institute

India Birdsong, General Manager & CEO of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Circular Economy Keynotes

Michael Waas, Global Vice President of Brand Partnerships with TerraCycle

Nik Engineer, Executive Lead of North America Operations with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Climate Change Speaker

Michael Shank, Ph.D., Communications Director with the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance

Summit Recap

City Photo Coverage
Summit Participant Workbook
Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summary
Matt Gray, Chief of Sustainability "State of Sustainable Cleveland"

Media Coverage

Videos

We thank the Summit sponsors not only for making this event possible but for being critical partners in sustainability.

Blue Lake Sponsors

Lake Erie Sponsors

Cuyahoga Sponsors

Community Sponsors

Posted on Stay Updated by · January 09, 2018 3:48 PM

Recap from the 10th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit

Thanks to all who joined us for the 10th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit on September 20-21, 2018. More than 500 sustainability leaders learned about new innovations, advanced existing initiatives, and co-created Cleveland's sustainable future.

The 2018 Summit built off our collective progress by focusing on:

Neighborhoods: Neighborhood-level sustainability and equity;
SC2019: Preparing for next year's culmination of Sustainable Cleveland 2019 and what comes next;
Water: Advance water issues locally and nationally by marking the 50th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River burning on June 22, 2019;
Climate: Implementing the new Cleveland Climate Action Plan by advancing work on green biz, sustainable transportation, clean energy, green space, and more!

We had four dynamic speakers this year. Radhika Fox, CEO of the US Water Alliance, served as our Day 1 keynote by highlighting progress in clean water, but also challenging attendees on the hard work that remains. Day 2 featured a stirring keynote from Rue Mapp, Founder of Outdoor Afro, and two ignite talks from Brigadier General Stephen Cheney of the American Security Project and Senator Michael Bennet from Colorado.

It's clear we made another step forward in transforming Cleveland into a Thriving Green City on a Blue Lake.