Vision
To achieve a sustainable New Jersey, one community at a time.
Mission
Empower New Jersey communities to build a better world for future generations with the tools, training and financial incentives necessary to pursue critical sustainability initiatives.
Overview
Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit organization and national leader in the local sustainability movement. Progress continues through a network of municipalities, schools and school districts working collectively to bring about a sustainable New Jersey. Acting with state agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, academia and industry, Sustainable Jersey researches best practices for what communities could and should do to contribute to a sustainable future. The program culminates in a prestigious certification award to municipalities and schools that have documented meeting a set of rigorous standards.
Since the launch of the Sustainable Jersey municipal program in 2009 and the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program in 2014, participants have successfully implemented and documented over 30,000 discrete actions from our list of best practices. Over eight-million dollars in grants have been awarded to municipalities, schools and school districts in the program. Sustainable Jersey provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. By supporting efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, educate for sustainability, stimulate local economies, increase resiliency and progress toward an equitable society, Sustainable Jersey is empowering communities to build a better world for future generations.
What is Sustainability?
A sustainable community is one that can continue to provide what people need and value—now and for generations to come. That means caring for the natural environment that sustains us, supporting strong and resilient local economies, and making thoughtful choices about priorities, trade-offs, and impacts rather than allowing decisions to be shaped only by power or circumstance. Sustainability reminds us that our actions today affect the people who come after us and communities beyond our own.
Sustainability is built on three pillars: Environment, Economy, and Equity. Protecting air, water, ecosystems, and climate helps ensure healthy, resilient places to live. A sustainable economy creates opportunity, uses resources wisely, and supports long-term community well-being. Ensuring equitable access to resources, equal rights, and meaningful participation in decision-making leads to robust problem-solving, broad-based buy-in, and real opportunity for everyone to contribute to and benefit from progress. When supported by these three interconnected dimensions of sustainability, communities can flourish now and in the future.
History
Sustainable Jersey began as an informal partnership that has evolved and been shaped by the contributions and perspectives of many. In 2006, The College of New Jersey was funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to create a “Sustainable Communities Leadership Network.” The network was tasked with supporting municipal progress toward sustainable development by identifying best practices, facilitating peer to peer learning, developing metrics to judge performance and providing direct technical support and training. Around the same time, a group of mayors at the New Jersey League of Municipalities (NJLM) was coming together to form a “green mayors” group that would work to support similar activities.
Concurrently, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities were also working on sustainable community related initiatives. The four parties agreed to come together under one banner and began to collaborate on the program that eventually became Sustainable Jersey. After more than a year of intensive work, the Sustainable Jersey program took final form and was launched in February of 2009. Two years later, Sustainable Jersey evolved from a partnership into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools
In early 2014, Sustainable Jersey and the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) launched Sustainable Jersey for Schools, designed specifically for New Jersey’s public-school districts and public charter schools. Similar to the municipal program, Sustainable Jersey for Schools convened experts, local school officials, educators and other stakeholders to build the program.After a little over a year of development with over 12 volunteer task forces, Sustainable Jersey for Schools was launched on October 28, 2014.