A report released Monday by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia concluded Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters Program will have a $3.1 billion economic benefit to the community for an investment of $1.2 billion over 25 years.
This highly anticipated report by Econsult Solutions has interest from many local, regional, and national organizations, as well as members of Philadelphia City Council.
The Green City, Clean Waters Program is managed by the Philadelphia Water Department and addresses federal Clean Water Act regulations with decentralized, neighborhood scale, natural systems, otherwise known as green stormwater infrastructure.
“Just 5 years into this ambitious, daring, and innovative 25-year plan to address federal water quality requirements, GCCW is already demonstrating present results and future potential,” said Jamie Gauthier, Executive Director, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
Using the GSI Partners, a subset of SBN members, as a proxy for the larger industry, the report shows local economic growth is resulting from the public and private investments in GSI that are being catalyzed by the plan.
“The GSI Partners experienced double-digit annual revenue growth from 2013 to 2014. We estimate that these local businesses currently represent an annual economic impact of almost $60 million within the City of Philadelphia, supporting 430 local jobs and generating nearly $1 million in local tax revenues,” said Anna Shipp, GSI Partners Project Manager, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
The report also makes projections of what can be expected with continued investment in GSI. Indicators of local economic growth go beyond the growth of the businesses within the industry, so the report also evaluates the real estate market as well as neighborhood level benefits that have resulted from the public and private investment catalyzed by Green City, Clean Waters.
“Conservatively, over the life of GCCW, public and private investments in GSI are projected to produce a $3.1 billion impact in the Philadelphia economy, supporting roughly 1,000 jobs per year and generating $2 million per year in local tax revenues,” said Lee Huang, Senior Vice President and Principal, Econsult Solutions, Inc.
SBN will brief City Council on February 24th on the results of the report, and will use this report in their continued efforts to support the maximum triple bottom line success of Green City, Clean Waters.
A copy of the full report is available online.
For more information on the initiative itself, visit the Philadelphia Water Department’s Green City, Clean Waters Program webpage.
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