When people think of Cleveland, they usually don’t think eco-friendly, but the city has taken great strides to work toward becoming a “green city on a blue lake.”

“But I thought you’re river burned?” you might be thinking. Well, the Cuyahoga River did burn 40 years ago this June and it has come an awful long way since the. That event led to the creation of the Clean Water Act and the river is now a model for the EPA. It also spurned an award-winning beer from an eco-friendly brewer (Great Lakes Brewing’s Burning River Pale Ale) and a great green summer festival (Burning River Fest).

In fact, the city’s green efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Green Lodging News recently ran an article with more info on our hotels’ sustainability efforts. And MSN.com recently featured Cleveland as one of “12 unexpected urban areas that are doing good green stuff,” noting it as home to a surprisingly forward-looking sustainability subculture. Read that story here. 

Cleveland now ranks #16 the SustainLane 2008 US City Rankings of the 50 most-populous cities, the nation’s most complete report card on urban sustainability. The rankings explain how people’s quality of life and city economic and management preparedness are likely to fare in the face of an uncertain future. These indicators gauge, for instance, which cities’ public transit, renewable energy, local food and development approaches are most likely to either limit or intensify the negative economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuel dependence.

Read on for more info on Cleveland’s eco-friendly destinations, attractions and events.

Hotels
Several Cleveland hotels graduated from the Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) program, a voluntary year-long process to implement multiple sustainable practices. All hotels made a commitment to implement sustainable practices, including recycling and using energy-efficient equipment, into their daily operations. The staff at one of the hotels, the Wyndham at PlayhouseSquare, now wears new uniforms made from recycled polyester fibers spun from plastic beverage bottles.

RTA Healthline
The RTA Healthline, opened in October of 2009, connects downtown Public Square to the arts, culture, education and hospitals of University Circle. The bus line utilizes 21 hybrid-electric vehicles powered by clean diesel engines and electric transmissions with 100 kW motors and 600-volt nickel hydride battery packs. This unique power train reduces particulate emissions while dramatically improving fuel efficiency.

In conjunction with the new bus line, Euclid Avenue was completely re-done including the planting of 1,500 trees and the addition of dedicated bike lanes providing commuters another green alternative to driving.

Great Lakes Science Center
The Great Lakes Science Center recently installed new solar panels to go along with the first Cleveland lakefront wind turbine, becoming the fourth largest producer of alternative energy in the state. More importantly, the solar panels and wind turbine bring about greater public awareness of renewable energy and educates the visitors to the Science Center of the benefits of alternative energy to this region.

Progressive Field
Progressive Field and the Indians were forerunners in the American League to become a part of Major League Baseball’s movement to become “green.”  Forty-two solar panels were installed on the upper deck concourse in the stadium, generating enough power to run all 400 of the ballpark’s television sets during the game in addition to the large scoreboard.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo + Rainforest
The Zoo is a leader in conservation, and not just in conserving the habitats of the animals they take care of.  The Zoo collects more than 140 tons of recyclables a year from paper, cell phones, phone books, household appliances, aluminum and glass, just to name a few. Committed to the conservation of all life, the Zoo funds conservation projects all over the world.

Cleveland Metroparks System
Visit the Cleveland Metroparks  to enjoy a variety of recreational activities and learning opportunities at any one of the 16 reservations within the system. Stop by one of the nature centers and learn more about the wildlife inhabiting the parks system and appreciate the natural beauty of the Cleveland region.

Great Lakes Brewing Company
Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) is a socially conscious brewer of award-winning, all-natural beer and supports the efforts of local farmers.  The restaurant and brewery strives to use ingredients that are all-natural, organic, free-roaming/free range, and locally raised and produced. Plus, GLBC operates a beer delivery truck and a shuttle bus (”The Fatty Wagon”) that runs on restaurant vegetable oil.  Results show that engines running on straight vegetable oil produce 40% less soot than diesel and are 25% cleaner.

Burning River Fest
This one day family-friendly festival features environmental education programs and demonstrations, local artisans and musicians, a variety of locally-produced delicacies from Cleveland’s favorite restaurants, Great Lakes Brewing Company beers and some of the most interesting and diverse views of Cleveland’s lakefront and skyline.

Hanna Theatre
Part of the city’s amazing PlayhouseSquare, the theatre recently reopened following a $19.2 million renovation featuring a number of “green” upgrades. From the start 92% of construction waste was recycled and restored back into the manufacturing process thereby avoiding being sent to a landfill. The theatre introduced Demand Control Ventilation areas not regularly occupied through the installation of CO2 sensors. They also reused existing plumbing fixtures with new water conserving controls, eliminated the use of CFC-based refrigerants, implemented a “green housekeeping/cleaning” program that utilizes cleaning supplies/solutions that do not adversely affect the air quality and have placed recycling areas throughout the theater. They are now pursuing Silver LEED Certification for sustainable business practices that reduce the negative impact on the environment. 

Culinary Vegetable Institute/Chef’s Garden
Located in Milan, Ohio—about an hour west of downtown Cleveland—the CVI and Chef’s Garden team produce more than 1,100 varieties of vegetables and herbs for the discerning palate. The CVI is the educational part of this very unique destination. They put together programs, lesson plans and take-home packets for groups to learn the importance of vegetables grown in organic environments (no pesticides or harmful fertilizers).

Greenhouse Tavern
The Greenhouse Tavern, a chef Jonathon Sawyer restaurant, is slated to open in April 2009 on East 4th Street in downtown Cleveland. It will be the first green-certified restaurant in Ohio with a rooftop greenhouse, reclaimed wood, high-efficiency lighting and, of course, proteins and vegetables obtained from local farms (or grown by Sawyer).

City of Cleveland Operations
In general, Mayor Jackson has made many commitments to energy efficiency, from investigating the possibility of using wind power to generate electricity to replacing traffic and crosswalk signals with LED lights. Read more about those efforts here.

Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Publications
And finally, starting this year, Positively Cleveland’s publications have gone green. Eco-friendly efforts with printed products include responsible, smart and renewable practices to conserve natural resources. In partnership with printer, St. Ives Midwest, the following green processes are used in the production of publications:

• Soy-Based Inks: Our publications will use vegetable-based printing inks that include soy. Not only are vegetables a renewable resource, but vegetable-based inks are naturally low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which play a significant role in the creation of the greenhouse effect and global warming.
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Paper: The FSC logo indicates that the product carrying it can be tracked back to the forest from which it came. An FSC Trademark logo on print products shows that they come from well managed, sustainable and legal sources.
• Wind Energy: St. Ives, supports this renewable resource by buying a portion of their electricity from wind farms located in Western Pennsylvania.

So yes, when you think green you should think Cleveland. Learn even more about Cleveland’s eco-friendly efforts through EcoCity Cleveland and GreenCityBlueLake.  –Submitted by Barb Balogh, Communications Coordinator

Editor’s Note: Other links include the Greater Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Green Corps at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

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