The Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign is the community arm of the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative (PCI). What do we do? The PCI raises awareness and engages Pittsburgh's residents, businesses, government and institutions of higher education by taking concrete actions that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution and their impact on our local economy and human health.
The primary initiative of the BGCGG campaign is what we call neighborhood blitzes. We work with neighborhoods in Pittsburgh to distribute free reusable
grocery bags full of energy and water saving tools to help people save energy
and money in their homes and in turn reduce their carbon footprint. A group of
neighborhood volunteers go door-to-door delivering things like CFL light bulbs,
smart power strips, LED nightlights, etc.
Blitzes have proven to be extremely effective, because of their ability to engage people in a community. It can be challenging
to get people in-tune and interested in something as saturated and politicized
as sustainability. The blitz model is unique because it goes directly to the resident
and encourages personal interaction. The energy saving tools are brought right
to the community, benefiting all those who choose to open their door! Residents
have shown to be receptive and grateful to receive the energy-saving tools.
Our hope is that providing people with these tools will not
only help to reduce their energy usage, but will also encourage them to take
the next step to get an energy audit on their house - thus making their homes
more energy efficient – all in the name of climate change!
