Sustainable Jersey

AT A GLANCE SUSTAINABLE JERSEY WHAT: A nonprofit organization supporting New Jersey communities WHERE: Ewing, New Jersey WEBSITE: www.sustainablejersey.com SUSTA INABLE JERSEY communities. Sustainable Jersey certification is a prestigious designation for municipal governments in New Jersey. Municipalities achieving certification are considered by their peers, by state government, and by the experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leading municipalities. The certification is free and completely voluntary. In addition to the certification program, Sustainable Jersey has worked with sponsors to award over 350 grants to New Jersey municipalities for sustainability projects that make communities more livable, environmentally friendly, and prosperous. Sustainable Jersey completes approximately 80 trainings and events each year to educate participants. Funding comes as follows: 1/3 from state government, 1/3 from corporate contributors, and 1/3 from philanthropic foundations. Staff is roughly 20 people: About one third manage operations like the certification program, such as working directly with the municipalities, doing technical assistance. About a third are doing outreach, including running about a hundred different events from workshops and webinars, stakeholder meetings, and trainings. A final third are doing research and program development on the next generation of best practices and strategies. Randall Solomon, Sustainable Jersey’s Executive Director, talks about the origins of the organization: “The founders were concerned about the future and realized we have to start making serious progress on a number of sustainability issues, not the least of which is climate,” he recounts. “There was a level of frustration in high levels of government and a sense that we have to just start working on this now and in New Jersey. We can’t wait for somebody else to solve