Connecting Environmental Leaders
PEA's Sustainability Roundtable brings together leaders from across sectors to build the relationships and partnerships needed for local action on climate and environmental justice.
This biannual event began in October 2019 and re-launched in May 2022 to:
- Build relationships and connections among individuals and groups working on environmental sustainability in Forsyth County and surrounding areas;
- Reach a better understanding of the range and depth of environmental programs and projects in Forsyth County and beyond;
- Identify new and expanded opportunities for partnership and collaboration in local environmental work;
- Assess what groups need to connect/collaborate and accomplish their goals.
May 2024 Roundtable
In May 2024 PEA hosted the biannual Sustainability Roundtable, with 65 participants and 45 organizations across education, government, business, and nonprofit sectors.
Participants discussed a variety of topics including adaptive reuse, Solarize the Triad campaign, food resiliency, and more. In interactive breakout discussion groups, participants identified next steps to promote environmentally sustainable practices.
Some next steps include:
- Creating apprenticeships and other learn-and-earn opportunities are critical, especially for non-degree seeking younger folks, and even folks mid-career who want to pivot into the clean energy economy.
- There is opportunity to amend existing city ordinance to stipulate a requirement of 18% tree coverage for new development projects.
- Developing a circular economy model would decrease waste from area universities and hospitals.
May 2023 Roundtable
In May 2023 PEA hosted the biannual Sustainability Roundtable, with 70 people and 40 organizations representing education, government, business, and nonprofit sectors.
Participants discussed a variety of topics including transportation, the built environment, composting, food production and more. We identified that there are many ways themes from each topic intersect with one another and discussed specific projects that are being done to meet community needs. Some projects include:
- Creation of the Triad Green Jobs Center
- Adaptive reuse development project on 27th St. in Winston-Salem
- Planned sidewalk and bicycling infrastructure
We are hoping to track progress on these projects over the next year and use any learning points to shape the agenda for another engaging Sustainability Roundtable in May 2024.
The November 2023 Sustainability Roundtable will be an interactive display over the course of several days to engage as many community members as possible about one sustainability topic.
Click here to view photos from the May 2023 Sustainability Roundtable
October 2022 Sustainability Roundtable
In October 2022 PEA hosted the biannual Sustainability Roundtable, with more than 60 people from across sectors at Forsyth Tech Community College.
Through engaging conversations on topics like water management, transportation, the built environment, and more, we identified many important themes around local environmental issues. Some important needs identified include:
- Creation of an implementation plan (in all sectors) for sustainable development that is equitable, effective, and prioritized
- Working together to build more resilient infrastructure in light of climate change
- Consolidating & sharing information about public meetings with a goal of increased participation
We are using these overview points and participant feedback to shape the agenda for another engaging Sustainabiltiy Roundtable in May 2023.
May 2022 Sustainability Roundtable
May 2022 Sustainability Roundtable
In May 2022 PEA re-launched the Sustainability Roundtable, hosting more than 60 people from across sectors at the Enterprise Center in Winston-Salem.
Through engaging conversations on topics like food systems, education, the built environment, and more, we identified many important themes around local environmental issues. Some important needs identified include:
- Our community needs resources and tools to engage citizens in education and action around climate change, air quality, and water pollution.
- Our community needs strategies to address the effects of environmental hazards and injustices on low-income families.
- Our community is set up to engage students but we need incentives for them to stay in the area and use their skills to help us solve local problems.
We are using these overview points and participant feedback to shape the agenda for another engaging Sustainabiltiy Roundtable in the fall of 2022.
Click here to see photos from the May 2022 Sustainability Roundtable.
Thank you, sponsors!
