Sustainable Jersey

SUSTA INABLE JERSEY in relation to the program. “Being a certification program, we’ve got very specific action steps we want these municipalities to implement,” says Solomon, “the ordinances, policies, plans, initiatives, and infrastructure we want them to implement that we think is best going to achieve what needs to be achieved on a host of different issues. If they implement those things, they can score enough points to get certified.” This past year, Sustainable Jersey got over 5,000 submissions from local governments implementing their actions and submitting documents to try to score points in the program. “Each one of those actions was a meaningful step they took that we have to review against an objective set of standards,” Solomon explains. “And often times they don’t meet the requirements in the first go-round, so that leads to an extended period of mentoring back and forth where we guide them on how to implement it; now multiply that by 5,000.” There are currently 204 certified municipalities in two levels, bronze and silver (about 50 are silver). The bronze and the silver are for municipalities as a whole, like a bronze city or a silver town. Once they achieve silver, then they can go for a performance-based gold star for a particular issue, so towns could be gold-star-certified in energy, or gold-star-certified in water, indicating that a community has taken steps that puts them on a trajectory to actually achieve the goal. “In the case of energy, it’s to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, which is in line with the Kyoto Protocol and what the climate scientists are saying. We’re actually measuring progress, making sure that what municipalities are now doing on the ground is commensurate to achieving those lofty goals,” Solomon reports. “There’s definitely virtuous competition going on over sustainability and it’s a matter of local pride to shine there,” he continues. “We make sure that there are meaningful political rewards for the local officials that do this work, so we celebrate them in front of their peers and generate a lot of press for the work they do. There are also financial rewards such as priority access to grant programs from public and private sources and our partners. Of course, many of the actions, themselves, save money or make money. For example, if you follow through on our sustainable energy slate of actions, you’ll save money on energy efficiency and make money on generating renewables.” Solomon adds that such programs actually solve other problems they’re already facing, for example, by improving local air quality, lowering energy bills, and lowering the tax bills. “We’re providing best practices and solutions on a broad front of issues, and that’s helpful to them,” he avers. “It’s also helpful politically, because their constituents are demanding action on these issues, but they might not have had a good way to achieve it, previously. We give them a trusted and vetted