CBI was awarded a 2008 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award on behalf of the Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3) partnership. GB3 was selected from 125 applicants and was recognized for achievements in community action. The awards program, established in 2000 at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, annually recognizes and honors outstanding innovative efforts to help make progress in achieving cleaner air. Award-winning entries must directly or indirectly reduce pollutant emissions, demonstrate innovation, offer sustainable outcomes, and provide a model for others to follow. Read the EPA Region 1 Announcement [1].
The Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3) partnership is a multi-stakeholder partnership dedicated to improving air quality and reducing emissions from transportation and construction.
GB3 provides a forum for sharing experiences, concerns, and lessons learned, while offering funding opportunities and technical resources. Through voluntary partnerships, expanding networks, and increasing collaboration among the area’s diverse sectors, GB3 is able to educate the public and apply innovative technologies to reduce emissions from transportation and construction sources in the City of Boston.
Partner projects have significantly reduced the local impact of diesel emissions, including: training over 1,000 school bus drivers in anti-idling procedures; the adoption of construction contract language requiring retrofits and cleaner fuels at several significant construction projects; the use of biodiesel in Harvard University’s vehicles; and retrofitting the Medical Academic and Scientific Community Organization’s 17 shuttle buses and Boston’s 600 diesel school buses with advanced pollution control technology.
GB3 hosted sector-based workshops providing technical assistance and facilitating discussion on emission control strategies. These workshops educated a large community of stakeholders beyond GB3’s members and resulted in quantifiable emission reductions. GB3’s partners include Boston area academic institutions, federal, state, and municipal government representatives, hospitals, technology and energy vendors, construction firms, environmental non-profits, and community organizations.
The GB3 partnership is a successful model for fostering collaborative actions to address local environmental issues. The partnership has begun to share experiences, resources, and tools with communities beyond Greater Boston and has promoted similar partnerships in Manchester, New Hampshire and Providence, Rhode Island.
For more information about CBI's involvedment with GB3 contact Kate Harvey [2].