Following Up: Chester County's Sustainability Summit
Posted May 30, 2025
The Chester County Sustainability Summit & Expo drew an enthusiastic crowd of over 200 interested residents and generated a buzz of excitement around advancing local environmental initiatives. The event was held on May 17 at West Chester University and hosted by the Chester County Planning Commission (CCPC).
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., attendees engaged in a variety of activities:
- Presentations about energy (energy efficiency, solar, and geothermal heating and cooling), and sustainable landscaping (backyard certification programs, landscaping for stormwater, and gardening for wildlife),
- Tours of the University's LEED Gold Sciences and Engineering Building and Green Roof,
- Networking opportunities with home and business owners about their experiences,
- And more than 40 vendors and community organizations.
Attendees enjoyed a free lunch and went home with a native plant, along with planting and care instructions.
To supplement the information provided by the presenters, CCPC created handouts for each of the different topics covered at the event. View and download the handouts.
Chester County Commissioner, Marian Moskowitz, provided comments about collaboration with surrounding counties through the Southern Pennsylvania Sustainability Partnership, which allows the county to leverage its buying power to enter into large scale renewable agreements. "We knew that for us as a county, if we were going to work with other counties, we wanted to have our local partners to work with us, too," Moskowitz said. "We're really proud of the progress we have made but are even more excited about what is ahead."
CCPC's Sustainability Director, Rachael Griffith, led the planning of the event along with the CCPC team. "For this event we tried to create content that would have broad appeal and would attract people who don't typically hear about or come to environmentally focused events. From that perspective, I think the event was a success. I'm grateful to the county's Environmental and Energy Advisory Board members for providing guidance on topics to cover and for making connections to presenters and exhibitors."
CCPC thanks the event sponsors, who include West Chester University, TerraSol Energies, PECO, GreenWeaver Landscapes, Natural Lands, Hobbs & Company, and others. See the full list of sponsors.
If you didn't make it to the Summit, there's still other ways to get involved! Sign up for the Sustainability eNewsletter for news and stories of the work happening in our communities, as well as tips, resources, and information about sustainability in Chester County.
You can also find information about CCPC's sustainability projects and initiatives online.