en Peck, founder of
ities
project at City Hall in Toronto.'”
Six of the 10 companies joined and ultimately created the organization – which was made formal in
2004 with not-for-profit 501(c)(6) status, and is operated these days under contract to the Cardinal
Group Inc. and is run day to day by an independent board.
The organization is in the midst of preparation for CitiesAlive, a 12th annual green roof and wall
conference that will take place in Nashville fromNov. 12-15.
“Our goal, of course, was to convince the politicians and the city bureaucrats that, just like in
Germany, they should invest in this as a type of green infrastructure,” Peck said. “We had initial
political support from the deputy mayor Case Ootes, and later the new mayor David Miller and
deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, and that project really is what led to the industry association that is
nowGreen Roofs for Healthy Cities today.”
Business World chatted with Peck recently to discuss the association as it looks today, the selling
points used for prospectivemembers and significant issues on theminds of itsmembers.
July-August 2014
| BusinessWorld | 113
