Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will address more than 80 other municipal leaders from cities across North America today at the second annual Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN).

The group will gather at the Boston Architectural College, where Menino received an honorary doctorate in Sustainable Communities in May.

Funded by the Surdna Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Blackstone Ranch Institute, the USDN was formed to enable public sector sustainability managers to learn from each other and accelerate municipal sustainability goals including greenhouse gas emission reductions. Boston officials will be joined at the meeting by sustainability colleagues from New York, Seattle, Portland and others.

"From the very start, cities have been leading the way on climate change and sustainability, so it’s great to be with the people who are driving that progress across our country and Canada," said Menino. "This meeting is as much about what green practices aren’t working as it is about the ones that are and that’s exciting because in the true spirit of team work, we’re collaborating to get things done."

Topics of discussion include issues such as energy efficiency retrofits in buildings, zero waste strategies, green infrastructure and green workforce development, according to a statement.