Meet Philadelphia’s New Sustainability Director: Christine Knapp

The following interview with Philadelphia’s new Director of the Office of Sustainability Christine Knapp was posted on the Greenworks Philadelphia Blog last Thursday--

-- Q: Welcome! You’ve been on the job for a month and a half now. How has it been?

-- Knapp: It’s been a busy and exciting seven weeks! The staff at the Office of Sustainability have been tremendously helpful in getting me up to speed on all of their work and visions for our next phase.  I’ve also gotten a lot of support and encouragement from colleagues throughout City government and from external partners, which has been wonderful.

-- Q: You have a mix of advocacy and government experience. How do you think that will help you in your new role?

-- Knapp: I think having experience in both sectors helps me to understand the roles that all stakeholders can and should have in helping to meet our collective goals. I believe strongly in the ability of government to lead, but I know it has limitations. I also know the advocacy community can help to drive policy, engage new audiences and hold government accountable- all of which are critical to success.

-- Q: 2015 marked the end of the original timeline for the city’s comprehensive sustainability plan, Greenworks. What’s next?

-- Knapp: Mayor Kenney is committed to continuing on the great work that has been done by the Office of Sustainability over the last eight years. Our first step will be to update Greenworks as our comprehensive sustainability framework. We want to gather feedback from the community, from issue experts and from other City agencies to create a plan that works for everyone.

-- Q: Philadelphia is already experiencing climate change – more extreme weather, flooding, and an increasing number of high heat days? What is the City doing from a planning perspective to deal with a changing climate?

-- Knapp: In December, we released the City’s first climate adaptation report “Growing Stronger: Toward a Climate-Ready Philadelphia,” which details the impacts climate change could have on the city and lays out recommendations for action to mitigate those impacts. Luckily, many of our City departments are already taking actions to help adapt to a wetter and warmer climate, such as the Green City, Clean Waters green infrastructure program being implemented by Philadelphia Water, or Philadelphia Parks and Recreation piloting new forest restoration practices to identify practices suitable for our changing climate. We will be looking at how to support City departments in carrying out these recommendations, while also trying to reduce carbon emissions.

-- Q: We noticed a change in the department’s name – “Mayor’s” has been dropped. You’re now the Office of Sustainability. What’s that all about?

-- Knapp: In November of 2014, voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to make the office permanent. That means we now stand as our own independent office outside of the Mayor’s office. This change creates an opportunity for us to work even more closely with operating departments, whose collaboration and partnership has been critical to our shared success.

-- Q: We know about your current job, but what was your very first job?

-- Knapp: I worked at a bagelry on Long Island called the Bagel Nook. I’m still a bit of a bagel snob, but Philly has really stepped up its bagel game in the last few years!

For more information on Philadelphia’s sustainability initiatives, visit the Office of Sustainability webpage.