THE SALLAN FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Executive Director's Report

The Sallan Foundation, founded in 2005, focuses on initiatives emerging in global cities that can make them more sustainable. Identifying, incubating and disseminating new trends and practices that could transform the built environment and its underlying energy systems form the core of Sallan's work. In these ways, the Foundation serves as a force for envisioning and advancing useful knowledge for greener cities. It fosters development of an informed public that will give priority to high performance urban agendas while it cultivates effective advocacy for greener cities. The Foundation is not aligned with any profession, discipline or political party and thus serves as an independent convener and facilitator of collaborations among stakeholders and the public.

In 2005, the Sallan Foundation carried out its mission by broadcasting emerging ideas, refining and disseminating useful knowledge in the field of urban environmental sustainability and cultivating effective advocacy to make cities into centers of environmental innovation on the part of government, business and civil society.

2005 Highlights

The Sallan Foundation accomplished the following:

Envisioning Useful Ideas

The Sallan Foundation website was developed and went live in 2005 and quickly became a crucial communications component of the Foundation's work. "Torchlight" columns written by the Executive Director and "Snapshot" columns written by guest authors were posted bi-monthly. Articles reporting on the Sallan Foundation-sponsored "High Performance Building in New York City" panel series were regularly posted. Sallan sponsored a "preBriefing" on "New York Tackles Climate Change", as part of a panel co-sponsored by the Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences. It was posted on the website as were the Introductory Remarks of the Foundation's Executive Director. Electronic links to two reports concerned with innovations in urban environmental sustainability in which the Foundation played the role of critical reader were posted. A regular website was launched that offered a calendar of upcoming events, which includes both Foundation-sponsored panels as well as conferences and other events of importance to urban environmental sustainability.

Fostering an Informed Public

Sallan developed and produced the panel series "High Performance Building in New York City" in partnership with the Municipal Art Society, the Committee on the Environment, a project of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the NYC Apollo Alliance. This series brought together experts and advocates to identify and develop core issues to make green or "high performance" building into New York's "new normal". Panels were attending by representatives from government and business, environmental and community advocates, academics, students and members of the media. Sallan testified before the New York City Council in support of a high performance building policy and posted this testimony on its website. In October 2005, New York City enacted a Green Building Law.

The Foundation's Executive Director, Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D., was invited to serve as a member on the Environmental Sciences Section of the New York Academy of Sciences. This membership enabled the Sallan Foundation to advocate for broad agenda setting, to meet with environmental leaders from around the world, and to plan individual panels. In 2005, the Foundation produced "New York Tackles Climate Change". This event brought together a distinguished panel of experts who presented experts who spoke about the Northeastern States Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the New York State Renewable Portfolio Standard and the London England energy plan spearheaded by the Greater London Authority. Sallan also supported the writing of an in-depth, support "preBriefing" which was co-posted on the Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences web sites.

Effective Advocacy

The Sallan Foundation was asked to join the Steering Committee of the New York City Apollo Alliance, a project dedicated to developing a sustainable energy policy for the US and supporting the development of high performance building. As well, the Foundation joined the Advisory Board of the Healthy Schools Network, an organization focused on the construction and maintenance of green, clean and healthy schools in New York.

The Sallan Foundation, Inc. is committed to transparency and integrity with regards to our financial reporting responsibilities. In the spirit of good citizenship we have made our accountant's review report available for download below.