About WestUrb
Meet the proprietor
Jerry Tinianow
Jerry Tinianow is the proprietor of WestUrb. He is an award-winning sustainability professional who draws expertise from multiple disciplines. He recently served for seven years as the first Chief Sustainability Officer of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. He worked with all of its departments (over 13,000 employees) to produce sustainability success stories at scale. He previously worked at the regional level, directing the Office of Energy and Environment at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). In addition to urban and regional sustainability, he worked in wildlife and habitat conservation as the Ohio executive director of the National Audubon Society. An attorney by training, Jerry practiced commercial trial law for over 20 years with two large law firms in which he was a partner.
Accomplishments
Jerry's career has included these highlights:
- Denver was certified at the Platinum Level in the LEED for Cities program of the U.S. Green Building Council, one of only five U.S. cities to have achieved Platinum at the time.
- Denver is among a small minority of U.S. cities that set an ambitious 2020 goal for community greenhouse gas reductions and then met it – two years ahead of time. CDP, an international climate group, included Denver on its “A List” of top performing cities.
- Denver rose steadily in the community energy efficiency rankings of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, from 13th in 2013 to 8th in 2019.
- MORPC produced the nation’s first regional food system assessment and plan, winner of the 2010 Trailblazer Award of the National Association of Development Organizations.
- Audubon’s Ohio office conducted the largest capital campaign in Audubon’s history and produced the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, a nature education facility near downtown Columbus.
Leadership & Recognition
Jerry was the 2018 winner of the Wirth Chair Sustainability Award of the University of Colorado, which gave him the award “in recognition of his tireless work on Denver’s 80×50 Climate Action Plan.” He was also named a national “Environmental Hero” by the Sierra Club during its centennial celebration.
Jerry has been a sustainability leader at all levels of the community, including national and international. He chaired the Federal Issues Committee of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, which has over 200 member cities and counties in the U.S. and Canada. He also served as one of three Americans on the Global Executive Committee of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability. ICLEI’s membership includes over 1,500 local governments worldwide. Jerry served on the working group appointed by the U.S. Green Building Council to refine the latest version of its LEED for Cities and Communities program. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Managing For Sustainability program at the University of Colorado (Denver) business school.
Tim Wirth at the Wirth Chair Sustainability Award presentation luncheon
