Mark Alan Hughes, a senior fellow in the University of Pennsylvania's Fox Leadership Program, will take on the role of guiding the city's environmental efforts.

He also will serve as a senior adviser to Nutter, and will report directly to him.

Nutter said that Hughes will work to improve the city recycling program, to reduce city energy costs and to work with every city department to make sure each has a sustainability plan.

"Sustainability is not a fringe issue," Nutter said. "It is central to everything we do."

Hughes' salary is $150,000 a year. He has an extensive background in urban policy and planning.

He served as a senior adviser to Nutter's mayoral campaign during the primary election.

He said that in recent years he has grown increasingly interested in sustainability policy.

"I'm a policy-strategy guy," Hughes said.

"This is clearly the policy-strategy challenge for the next 10 years."

According to a biography provided by the Nutter administration, Hughes has a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. from Penn.