Sustainable Jersey™ A Better Tomorrow, One Community at a Time: • Identifies actions to implement to help municipalities become more sustainable • Provides tools, resources, and guidance to enable communities to make progress • Provides access to grants and funding for municipalities that are working toward certification
Participating Communities • Program start: February 2009 • 403 (70%) NJ municipalities participating • 82% of NJ’s population lives in these communities • 139 municipalities certified: • 117 towns at bronze level • 22 towns at silver level
Who Participates In Sustainable Jersey? Municipal Governing All New Jersey Registered in Certified in Body Municipalities Sustainable Jersey Sustainable Jersey Majority Democrat 183 32% 119 33% 36 33% Republican 325 58% 203 57% 57 53% Independent 58 10% 37 10% 15 14% Notes: (1) Partisan category based on data from 2010 NJ Legislative District Data Book. (2) Registration and Certification Statistics current as of 4/2/2012.
Actions • Concrete steps municipalities can implement to become certified and more sustainable; actions include: • Ordinances • Programs and Plans • Policies and procedures • Retrofit or renovation of facilities
Certification Levels • Bronze: • Total of at least 150 points • Mandatory Green Team • 3 Priority Actions • Silver: • Total of at lest 350 points • Mandatory Green Team • 3 Priority Actions • Gold: • Based on levels of performance – Linking local performance to central goals • Reducing GHG according to statewide targets • Improving fleet efficiency 35%
Workshops, Trainings and Events • Each “action” comes with a detailed tool and step by step “how to” directions • Access to free Sustainable Jersey workshops, trainings, webinars (40+ events annually) • Dedicated help line and ongoing TA
Sustainable Jersey Structure • Partnership Between: – The College of New Jersey (ISPG), The New Jersey League of Municipalities, The State of New Jersey • Partnership formed a non-profit Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) • Sustainability actions and standards created by volunteer expert and stakeholder Task Forces
Program Funding Three Funding Sources: • 1/3 Private Foundations • 1/3 Business Sponsors • 1/3 State Funding
Who Created The Actions/Standards? • To create rigorous and broadly accepted standards, we created a Sustainable Communities Working Group • Over 300 volunteer leaders from: • Academia • the non-profit sector • the business community, and • state, local, federal, and county government • Organized 22 Taskforces to identify best practices in their topic area • Identified best practice “actions” for local governments to • Developed standards and guidance materials • Coordinate resources and support programs
Building Partnerships & Leveraging Resources Students help the Mount Holly Green Team create a rain garden
Policy Alignment w/ Other Organizations • Energy Star: US Environmental Protection Agency • Alternative Transportation: Transit Management Organizations • Anti-Idling: NJ Environmental Federation • Green Building: USGBC, Somerset Partnership • Energy Audits: NJ Board of Public Utilities • Natural Resource Inventory: Assoc NJ Environmental Commissions • Clean Ocean Action: Blue Star Program • Land Use: New Jersey Future (Land Use NGO) • Walking and Wellness: Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, NJ Dept. of Health • Recycling and Waste, Water and Resource Protection Ordinances: NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Incentives and Grants • Over $100 Million in Leveraged Public and Private Funds • Sustainable Jersey Small Grants funded by PSEG & Walmart • $1.2 mil to 100+ communities • Formally Linked to Numerous State Programs • Priority in NJBPU Municipal Energy Audit Program • Priority in NJ DEP – Community Forestry Grants
Recognition and Promotion • Annual Sustainable Jersey Awards • Sustainability Champion Awards (large, medium and small population categories) • Leadership Award • Innovation Award • Collaboration Award • Creativity Award • Recognition at Sustainable Jersey luncheon at NJLM Annual Conference • Customized Sustainable Jersey logo for certified towns • Promotion in publications and outreach
NJLM Annual Awards Conference • 2010 - November 16 th – Approx. 350 people – Awards honored Innovation, Collaboration, Leadership, and Creativity – Awards also given to “Sustainability Champions” – Announced certification of 38 municipalities • 2011 – November 15 th
Program Impact • Since 2010, over 7,000 individual actions have been implemented and submitted for certification • 5,000+ were approved as meeting the Sustainable Jersey standards • Hundreds of formal “Green Teams” have been formed by local governments
Sustainable Jersey Framework Branded Programs Certification Program : + Action portfolio + Resources and support Sustainable Jersey For Schools + Certification process + Recognition and visibility Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program Program Elements Outreach, Education, & Events Regional Leadership Development Resiliency Network Targeted Initiatives Thought Leadership & Research
Strategic Initiatives • Sustainable Jersey for Schools • Sustainable Jersey Gold • Regional Leadership Networks • Supporting Inter-State Collaborations • NJ Resiliency Network
Next Generation Resiliency Technologies With Sustainable Energy Benefits Generation Technologies = Back-Up Only Applicable Across All = Back-Up Plus Other Service Generation Technologies Efficiency High Diesel Fuel Vulnerability Generator Islanding Nat Gas Medium Co-Gen Nat Gas Generator Storage Nat Gas Fuel-Cell Micro-Grids Low Solar Islanding With Storage High Low Medium Emissions Per Unit Of Energy
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