Sustainable Jersey Inc

Programs: Municipal certification and assistance program: the core of the program is a free municipal certification program for sustainable development that identifies specific implementable actions communities can take. Municipalities can implement the actions and document their progress to receive points toward the certification. The standards are accompanied by a robust program of training and support, and a suite of financial incentives provided by both public and private sources. Since the program was launched in 2009, by the end of fy2017 444 nj municipalities (about 79% of the state) were registered to participate in the program and were working to implement sustainability measures. Eighty-seven municipalities achieved certification in fy2017 increasing the total number of bronze level certified municipalities to 159 and silver level certified municipalities to 46. Collectively, certified communities have implemented and documented over 5,000 actions addressing the most pressing problems such as climate change, unsustainable land use, declining local economies, exposure to environmental hazards, natural resource protection, diversity and equity, population health, and many others. In addition, these communities have formed hundreds of green teams or sustainability commissions that are formal bodies of local government charged with implementing sustainable jersey actions. Sustainable jersey actions are researched and developed by issue-based task forces comprised of representatives from academia, the non-profit sector, the business community, and federal, state, county and local government. Sustainable jersey leads these groups as they research and disseminate best practices, translate global and state imperatives into local actions, test sustainability planning models and develop community resources for the program. In fy2017, 11 new actions were introduced. Sustainable jersey entered into a master services agreement with the college of new jersey to receive ongoing services and facilitate certain sustainable jersey grants. As part of the ongoing services received, it is esimated that the college of new jersey donated $649,372 in contributions and expenses related to this program.

school certification and assistance program: sustainable jersey and leading nj school focused organizations together launched a free sustainability certification program called sustainable jersey for schools designed specifically for new jersey public school districts and charter schools in 2014. Modeled off of the sustainable jersey municipal program, the program aims to prepare the next generation to move towards a sustainable future by providing a framework for action that results in a positive impact on the school community including cost savings, healthier learning environments, and enhance student and staff performance. The program includes nearly 100 actions that were developed using the task force model employed by the municipal program. By the end of fy2017, 661 schools were registered to participate in the program representing 26% of the public schools in the state. A total of 109 schools were certified at the bronze level and 9 at the silver level. In addition 138 schools were engaged in the certification process. To be certified, a school is be required to complete a balanced package of sustainability actions in order to achieve certification that is supported by a program of free training and technical assistance. Sustainable jersey entered into a master services agreement with the college of new jersey to receive ongoing services and facilitate certain sustainable jersey grants. As part of the ongoing services received, it is esimated that the college of new jersey donated $56,993 in contributions and expenses related to this program.

sandy recovery and resiliency: after hurricane sandy in 2012, the budding resiliency program ramped up quickly to address increasing needs of communities to strengthen their resilience to climate change. Working with the nj department of environmental protection, numerous non-profit organizations, rutgers university, and a climate adaptation task force, the program has since been researching and developing new climate adaptation tools and piloting them in communities. In fy 2017, direct assistance was provided to 20 communities, including the facilitation of municipal coastal vulnerability assessments and recommended strategies for ecological solutions to flooding. The program also developed a prototype urban heat island assessment. Sustainable jersey entered into a master services agreement with the college of new jersey to receive ongoing services and facilitate certain sustainable jersey grants. As part of the ongoing services received, it is esimated that the college of new jersey donated $97,350 in contributions and expenses related to this program.

community information and civic engagement: the focus of the sustainable jersey public information & engagement program in fy2017 was to guide municipalities towards successful completion of the 8 new actions that were developed in this area in the past two years, as well as broadly promoting the use of government technology methods. To do this, advanced trainings on the actions in the form of workshops and webinars for municipal officials and staff, civic-technologists and journalists were delivered and direct technical assistance was provided to two municipalities to help them assess the current state of their technology, where they would like to go, and how to get there. In addition, a coding for community competition was held to bring the local government and tech communities together to develop technology solutions to community issues. Sustainable jersey entered into a master services agreement with the college of new jersey to receive ongoing services and facilitate certain sustainable jersey grants. As part of the ongoing services received, it is esimated that the college of new jersey donated $24,841 in contributions and expenses related to this program.