PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Pittsburgh’s environmentally friendly buildings are making the black and gold city a little greener.

The Blue Green alliance, made up of organizations like the United Steel Workers and the Sierra Club, is showing why Pittsburgh is earning a reputation for being environmentally friendly using PNC Firstside Center as an example.

There are about 200 green buildings in the area and PNC Firstside Center is not only one of the first green buildings but it's one of the biggest.

Built 10 years ago, PNC Firstside Center is Leed Silver Certified and is a leader in energy and efficiency. It is one of over 40 certified green buildings PNC owns more than any other corporation in the world.

“When we see energy costs going up through the current year and year as much as 20 percent, we think it makes fiscal sense for shareholders, employees and communities we do business,” said Gary Saulson of PNC corporate real estate.

From floor to ceiling PNC Firstside Center is green. The carpet is made from all recycled materials, and the building’s entrance houses a rug made of hog’s hair to capture dirt.

The floor is made of crushed glass and cement, and it features a sunlit atrium where a crowd heard firsthand why Pittsburgh, named a solar American city in 2007, is considered a leader in “going green.”

“We have been trying to implement green on a variety of different levels whether it’s cleaning up our neighborhoods and our vacant lots,” said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

The hope is that by showing PNC Firstside Center more clean-energy jobs will be created.

“Our trades have been teaching the journeymen the new technologies,” said Jack Shea of the County Central Labor Council “and how to build these type of buildings and build them where they can be Leed certified.”