Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

In 2011, Philadelphians benefited from the creation of two public green spaces so visually, recreationally and environmentally significant that they transformed the city’s eastern and western riverbanks.

First, the former Pier 11 reopened as the Race Street Pier, a tree-lined park split into two levels. The upper level boasts an expansive sky promenade, and the lower terrace supports a lawn with generous seating and social space. Penn Park, an urban open space being built by The University of Pennsylvania, debuted along the Schuylkill River in the fall. The 24-acre park added athletic venues and areas for informal outdoor recreation and relaxation in University City.

But not only is the city’s landscape getting greener, so are its hotels, shops, restaurants, spas, cultural attractions, corporate spaces, sports teams and modes of transportation. Here are just a few ways Philadelphia is proving that contrary to cliché, it’s easy being green.

Rest Easy With Eco-Friendly Lodging:

• In October 2010, the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia became Philadelphia’s and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants’ first LEED-certified hotel at the Gold level. The highly stylized Palomar is outfitted with reclaimed, renewable and sustainable materials and its structure maintains the integrity of the former Architect’s Building. 117 S. 17^th Street, (877) 725-1778, hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com
• The ultra-luxe Rittenhouse Hotel is working with the Philagreen Hospitality Association to find ways to incorporate green initiatives, from upgrading lighting fixtures for optimal efficiency to substituting all paper and cleaning supplies with earth-friendly alternatives. 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, (215) 546-9000, rittenhousehotel.com
• Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia composts leftovers from its restaurants and uses some of the byproducts in its rooftop garden and flowerbeds. The resulting herbs and flora go are used for cooking and decorating. 1 Logan Square, (215) 963-1500, fourseasons.com/philadelphia
• At Temple University’s intimate The Conwell Inn, the shower heads are low-flow, the room keys are made of recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and paper, and the energy-efficient light bulbs are regulated by motion sensors. 1331 Polett Walk, (215) 235-6200, conwellinn.com
• The Best Western Widener Hotel and Suites located near Philadelphia International Airport is pursuing its LEED Silver certification by taking measures like heating its water through solar panels and using toxin-free, natural cleaning products and biodegradable or recyclable products and equipment. 1450 Providence Avenue, Chester, (610) 872-8100, bwwidenerhotel.com

You Are What You Eat & Drink:

• The months-old Kennett is about to become Philadelphia’s first bar and restaurant to obtain a certification from the national Green Restaurant Association. To qualify, owners built a 100% sustainable operation, which included painting with lead-free paint, fashioning furniture from reclaimed wood and upholstering and stuffing seating with recycled cardboard and old blue jeans. 848 S. 2^nd Street, (267) 687-1426, kennettrestaurant.com
• White Dog Café, a national pioneer in the eat-local movement, has opened a second location. Like the flagship in West Philadelphia, the suburban Wayne restaurant sources 95% of its organic farmed food locally, purchases only sustainably fished seafood and serves fair-trade coffee, tea and chocolate. 200 W. Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, (610) 225-3700; 3420 Sansom Street, (215) 386-9224, whitedog.com
• Square 1682’s Chef Guillermo Tellez recycles excess cooking oils and grease into bio-diesel fuels, adheres to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program standards, filters and bottles his own water and stocks many organic and biodynamic wines. There is no Styrofoam and all take-out containers and utensils are biodegradable and made from unbleached, recycled content. 121 S.17^th Street, (215) 563-5008, square1682.com
• Izzitgreen.com has recognized Philadelphia Brewing Company (PBC) as one of the top five sustainable breweries in the U.S. in part because brewers grow their own hops. PBC has also partnered with neighboring Greensgrow Farms to brew a beer called “Harvest from the Hood.” 2423-2439 Amber Street, (215) 427-2739, philadelphiabrewing.com
• In a first-of-its kind casual eating concept, Pure Fare prepares local, all-natural foods whose nutritional contents are tracked on a personalized web page that recommends menus based on the consumer’s fitness goals. Employees keep the planet healthy by composting, filtering their own bottled water and using environmentally friendly packaging. 119 S. 21st Street, (267) 997-4524, purefare.com
• Every day, the owner of Arnold’s Way Vegetarian Organic Raw Café & Health Center shoots a documentary with his customers about the ways a raw-food diet increases longevity. 319 W. Main Street, Lansdale, (215) 361-0116, arnoldsway.com
• Not only are Sweet Freedom’s bakery products vegan, gluten-free and devoid of common allergens, but they’re also baked without the use of chemical sweeteners, refined sugars and highly processed preservatives. 1424 South Street, (215) 545-1899, sweetfreedombakery.com

Turning Those Greenbacks Into Green Living:

• Big Green Earth Store’s raison d’etre is to sell only goods that protect the earth. Baby bottles made with toxin-free plastic, backpacks that charge iPods via solar power and bulk containers of house and body cleansers for refilling smaller receptacles are just the beginning. 934 South Street, (267) 909-8661; The Shops at Liberty Place, 17^th & Market Streets, (267) 909-8661, biggreenearthstore.com
• Duross + Langel’s owners produce and sell body and skin care products that are as free of synthetic ingredients as safety, effectiveness and esthetic appeal will allow. Colors are derived from natural micas and logwoods, and 98% of all ingredients come from botanical sources. 117 S. 13^th Street, (215) 592-7627, durossandlangel.com
• Nearly all of the clothing sold at SA VA is made in the adjacent Garment Center with fair-trade and eco-friendly textiles. When SA VA’s designers can’t create a garment themselves, they’ll buy pieces that are either fair-trade, organic, recycled or made in the U.S. 1700 Sansom Street, (866) 960-9800, savafashion.com
• At Furniture From The Barn, three generations of craftspeople design, build and hand-finish country-chic furniture sculpted out of wood reclaimed from 18th-century Pennsylvania barns. The family opts for natural products like tung oil and milk paint whenever possible. 191 Greenhouse Road, Nottingham, (610) 932-1122, furniturefromthebarn.com

Sustainable Growth:

• In 2010, Greensgrow Farms, a sustainability-oriented urban farm and farm stand, built a community kitchen and added a low-income Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The kitchen serves as an incubator where culinary entrepreneurs can develop products and where members of the two CSAs can participate in cooking and nutrition classes. 2501 E. Cumberland Street, (215) 427-2702, greensgrow.org
• The Weavers Way Co-op has added a location in Chestnut Hill, and all three stores are now open daily. The member-owners now operate four farms in Northwest Philadelphia, two of which are co-managed with a local agricultural high school and shelter. 8424 Germantown Avenue, (215) 843-2350; 559 Carpenter Lane, (215) 843-2350; 2129 72^nd Avenue, (215) 276-0706, weaversway.coop
• Reading Terminal Market features the recently relocated and expanded Fair Food Farmstand that sells humanely raised meats, milk and cheese from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. The market is also home to many other shops that purvey certified organic seasonal fruits and vegetables from nearby farms. 12^th & Arch Streets, (215) 922-2317, readingterminalmarket.org
• Wyebrook Farm uses no artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones or antibiotics and sells its meat and dairy products from a historic barn on-premise. Customers are invited to meet the animals and watch the agricultural practices. 150 Wyebrook Road, Honey Brook, (610) 942-7480, wyebrookfarm.com
• Family-owned Hendricks Farm and Dairy is a grass-fed, mule powered, raw milk dairy and beef farm with an on-site store that hosts educational culinary events. 202 Green Hill Road, Telford, (267) 382-0556, hendricksfarmsanddairy.com
• At Crossing Vineyards & Winery, wine is aged and stored in a geothermal temperature-controlled facility, and most of the operations run off hydro and solar energy. 1853 Wrightstown Road, Washington Crossing, (215) 493-6500, crossingvineyards.com

Eco-Friendly Spas: The Ultimate Feel-Good Experience:

• At the holistic Art + Science Aveda concept salon, all of the ingredients in all of the products can be traced back to the farmers who grew them. While Aveda builds hospitals and schools in struggling foreign villages in exchange for the production of natural beauty products, the salon itself espouses an earth-first philosophy by using 100% wind energy and recycling all of its containers and packaging. 4259 Main Street, (215) 482-2242, artplusscience.com
• Providing all-natural, non-toxic and plant-based professional body products and services, Juju’s salon and spa mix organic, healing and holistic treatments and services with state-of-the-art equipment. Juju powers both of its locations with wind energy. Salon, 713 S. 4^th Street, (215) 238-6080; spa, 728 S. 4^th Street, (215) 922-3235, jujusalon.com

Environmentally Engaging Education:

• In October 2010, Longwood Gardens unveiled a conservatory plaza containing a 4,072-square-foot green wall—the largest in North America. The wall features 47,000 different plants that provide oxygen and clean more than 15,500 pounds of dust and airborne toxins per year. Further, 17 top-domed underground bathrooms are the first in the world of their kind to employ natural lighting. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, (610) 388-1000, longwoodgardens.org
• Two permanent exhibitions installed at The Franklin Institute Science Museum in 2010 are designed to increase public awareness and understanding of climate-change science. Both Electricity and Changing Earth aim to stimulate discussion about choices over how to interact with the earth and whether society’s current behavior patterns will allow the planet and humanity to successfully co-exist in the future. 222 N. 20^th Street, (215) 448-1200, fi.edu
• The Philadelphia Zoo is keen on helping to protect wildlife. Its tree-planting project in Fairmount Park does just that by providing habitat for local wildlife while absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 3400 W. Girard Avenue, (215) 243-1100, philadelphiazoo.org
• As a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research, The Academy of Natural Sciences holds regular sustainability forums and field trips. Kids and their parents also learn about habitats and evolution via the Academy’s many exhibitions, live animal shows, naturalist presentations and opportunities to watch scientists at work. 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 299-1000, ansp.org

Building A Greener Tomorrow:

• The largest urban solar project in the nation is being developed at The Navy Yard business campus, where all new buildings must register with the LEED program and developers are encouraged to further their environmentalism by seeking certification at the Silver level or higher. Already, cleaning throughout The Navy Yard is done only during daylight, and storm water runoff is reduced through innovative systems. 5100 S. Broad Street, (215) 843-9273, navyyard.org
• Since the newly completed renovation of the Friends Center, the community building used by the Religious Society of Friends boasts a vegetated roof, geothermic wells for heating and cooling, cisterns to capture rainwater and direct daylight at virtually every desk. 1501 Cherry Street, (215) 241-7000, friendscentercorp.org
• The Comcast Center is the biggest example of environmentalism in Philadelphia—literally. The tallest LEED Gold certified building between New York and Chicago, the 58-story tower also boasts the world’s largest LED screen. Plus, the skyscraper uses 40% less water than a typical office building. 17^th Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard

Team Green:

• Lincoln Financial Field, home to the Philadelphia Eagles, is on its way to becoming the world’s first major sports stadium to power itself with self-generated renewable energy. It’s estimated that in September of 2011, the installation of 80 onsite wind turbines, 2,500 solar panels and a 7.6-megawatt dual-fuel cogeneration plant will allow the team to switch over entirely to wind, solar and dual-fuel generated electricity. 1020 Pattison Avenue, (215) 463-2500, philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen
• The Wells Fargo Center, the 21,000-seat home of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers, is a registered member of the U.S. Green Building Council and features single-stream recycling bins and a thermal ice-cooling room. Its owner, Comcast-Spectactor, sells the arena’s unused power back to the electric company and plans to start using environmentally friendly concession supplies and converting cooking grease from its stands into bio-diesel fuel. 3601 S. Broad Street, (215) 336-3600, wellsfargocenterphilly.com
• In 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies became the first team in the National Baseball League to launch an initiative that complies with the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program, encouraging organizations to buy green power. Since then, the Phils have collected used cell phones for donation to a charity and created an interactive robot that tells fans about the benefits of recycling. At Citizens Bank Park, bathroom and kitchen supplies are eco-friendly; fields are maintained with organic fertilizers; native trees and shrubs are planted throughout the ballpark; and unused cooked food is donated to a community center. 1 Citizens Bank Way, (215) 463-5000, philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com

Getting There The Greener Way:

• With Philadelphians making more than 76,000 bike trips in the city each day, a network of organizations are working to implement Bike Sharing, a program that would put thousands of rentable bikes on the streets. Registered members would use cards to unlock the bicycles from stations all over the city. bikesharephiladelphia.org
• Thanks to the addition of ZipCar to the city’s car-sharing market, Philadelphians can borrow 250 mostly gas-efficient and hybrid cars from a fleet that’s parked across 15 different neighborhoods. (215) 735-3691, zipcar.com
• PhillyCarShare, a nonprofit car-sharing organization, has been so successful since its launch almost a decade ago that each of its vehicles represents 15 personally owned vehicles being taken off Philadelphia streets. (215) 730-0988, phillycarshare.org

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

Contact(s):

• Caroline Bean, (215) 599-7433
• Cara Schneider, (215) 599-0789