Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking industrial decarbonization program was recognized Thursday during PEC’s annual western Pennsylvania awards dinner.
Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley accepted the Decarbonization Leadership award on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which launched the $396 million Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) program in 2024.
“As an environmental community, we are looking to address the environmental pollution of the past while continuing to trailblaze and innovate to prepare for an uncertain climate future,” Shirley said in her remarks. “RISE PA is a step forward in achieving this goal.”
Funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, RISE PA offers grants for both larger and smaller scale projects designed to improve technologies and reduce both costs and air pollution from heavy industry. The sector provides 11 percent of all jobs in Pennsylvania and contributes about 30 percent of the Commonwealth’s carbon emissions.
“DEP demonstrated real leadership in securing this funding, which showcases how technological advancements can make Pennsylvania’s business and industry more competitive while producing job growth and environmental wins,” said Gilbert. “It positions Pennsylvania as a national leader on industrial decarbonization.”
RISE PA grants will help companies meet the often steep up-front cost of investing in energy efficiency, electrification, and other technologies that have the most potential to reduce emissions and operating costs for manufacturers. Not only do such investments improve local air quality and create jobs for Pennsylvanians, they also enhance Pennsylvania’s competitiveness in a global marketplace with increasingly strict controls on the climate impacts of imported goods.
“RISE PA is an example of that partnership and shows that business and environmental protection do not have to be at odds,” Sec. Shirley said. “In fact, it shows that business and environmental protection can work together to benefit all.”
PEC’s annual Western Pennsylvania Dinner honors environmental leaders and initiatives in the region.
“These awardees demonstrate that individuals and organizations can have a profound impact on conservation and outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth,” PEC President Tom Gilbert said. “We salute them and appreciate all of their good work.”
PEC bestowed its Lifetime Achievement award on Cynthia Carrow, who retired this spring after an extraordinary 51 years with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC).
“Cynthia’s tenure with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is the longest tenure that I can think of a conservation leader in Pennsylvania,” said Cindy Adams Dunn, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Ms. Carrow started as a staff assistant in 1970s and by the ’90s had risen to vice president. As the organization’s head of government affairs, she played a leading role in the 2006 reauthorization of the federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund, which delivered $1.4 billion to reclaim abandoned mine sites and clean up polluted watersheds in Pennsylvania. In addition to managing WPC’s Natural Heritage and Community Greening programs, she spearheaded historic land and water conservation projects including a 17,000-acre expansion of Elk State Forest in McKean County, one of DCNR’s largest-ever acquisitions of public land, and the preservation of more than 80,000 acres in the Laurel Highlands.
Carrow has since begun a well-deserved retirement but is remembered fondly by her former colleagues.
“In addition to all of her accomplishments, Cynthia was just such a pleasure to work with on a day-to-day basis,” said Tom Saunders, President and CEO of WPC.
PEC also celebrated the trailblazing success of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority (CCCRA) in leveraging abandoned mine land reclamation and other conservation efforts to develop and activate one of the state’s fastest-growing trail systems. That system includes Pennsylvania’s 2025 Trail of the Year, the Path of the Flood Trail in Johnstown, as well as the 49-mile Ghost Town Trail, designated Trail of the Year in 2020. Through sustained collaboration among local governments, business, state and federal partners, and an army of volunteers, CCCRA’s efforts have elevated the regional profile, providing quality of life improvements through vibrant outdoor recreation assets.
In accepting the Trailblazing Community award, CCCRA Executive Director Cliff Kitner was joined by a large group of colleagues, volunteers, and community supporters — including perhaps CCCRA’s most vocal champion, Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky. Their successes would not be possible, Kitner said, without the hard work and dedication of his team.
“We don’t just hire employees,” he said. “We hire family.”
