Released: June 7, 2023
Delaware County’s Office of Sustainability is hosting its 2nd Annual Sustainability Conference at Widener University from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 8, 2023, with an aim to inspire, inform, and connect participants working towards a sustainable and resilient future. The conference will be held at the Alumni Auditorium located at 1 University Place in Chester, PA, and will be livestreamed at delcopa.gov/conference-livestream.
To date, over 300 concerned citizens, experts, government officials, advocates, and sustainability practitioners have registered to participate. Programming will include presentations from over 20 speakers and panelists and networking opportunities with over 30 exhibitors. Presentations will touch on relevant environmental and social issues including the link between gun violence and illegal dumping, air quality research, greening the chemical industry and more.
Delaware County will also release an overview of its first Sustainability Plan.
Opening remarks will be provided by Andrew Workman, Provost of Widener University; Elaine Schaefer, Vice Chair of Delaware County Council; Pennsylvania Senator Tim Kearney; and Marc Woolley, Chief Administrative Officer for Delaware County.
Highlighted speakers include:
Justin J. Harris, the Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Climate Equity Collaborative (CEC), is the Keynote Speaker. Justin will share his own global journey and CEC’s program that focuses on children’s environmental health, climate equity, technology, and public-private partnerships.
Melissa Muroff, Delaware County Assistant District Attorney, will share a presentation on Chester’s Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods: Building partnerships to mitigate gun violence and illegal dumping in Chester City.
Other speakers include representatives from Boeing, Johns Hopkins University, the Delaware County Transportation Management Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and the Clean Air Council.
A complete itinerary of speakers and panelists can be found on the Sustainability Conference website, located at delcopa.gov/conference.
Conference sponsors include the Delaware County Interactive Game Revenue Authority, the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority, PECO, and TD Bank. The Foundation for Delaware County is the fund sponsor for the event and is serving as an intermediate for fundraising as the County begins to launch initiatives from its Sustainability Plan.