Two Board Members Added

The Sustainable Jersey Board of Trustees added two new members in 2013: Cape May Mayor Dr. Edward J. Mahaney, Jr. (pictured left) and Springfield Administrator Anthony Cancro (pictured right). Mayor Mahaney spearheaded the City of Cape May's effort to achieve silver-certification and was awarded the Sustainable Jersey Sustainability Champion award in 2011 and 2012. Dr. Mahaney has served as a member of Cape May's governing body for 12 years and on the City Planning Board for 17 years. Anthony Cancro has been the Springfield Administrator since 2010. With a focus on sustainability, he brings over 32 years of experience in government administration at the state, federal and municipal levels.

New ESIP Guidebook Released

Check out the new Sustainable Jersey guidebook, sponsored by the NJ Board of Public Utilities. It explains how to implement an Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP). Case studies of successfully implemented ESIPs are included with a list of resources to guide you through the ESIP process. In 2009, the legislature approved ESIPs as an alternate method for New Jersey local government units to finance energy conservation measures. By using the ESIP financing alternative, the future value of energy savings is leveraged to pay for the upfront project costs. The law specifically allows Boards of Education, counties, municipalities, housing authorities and public authorities to enter into contracts for up to 15 years to finance building energy upgrades in a manner that ensures that annual payments are lower than the savings projected from the energy conservation measures.

Grant Winner Spotlight: Island Heights

In 2012, Island Heights (Ocean County) received a $20,000 Sustainable Jersey Small Grant funded by PSEG Foundation. The town is creating a bio-swale out of the parking lot medians adjacent to the Barnegat Bay Estuary and the local post office. The bio-swale will absorb and treat storm water runoff, address non-point source pollution, and offset the heat-island effect in the parking lot. Mayor Jim Biggs said, "The Sustainable Jersey grant funding will enable us to implement a project that otherwise would not have been possible. This grant will make a big difference for our small community. . .I look forward to the completed innovative bio-swale which will address storm water problems and non-point source pollution issues that affect not only Island Heights, but all of us who share the coast and who care about the health of our waters.

September Sustainability Summit

We are pleased to announce that Sustainable Jersey is planning a Sustainability Summit for this September. The agenda and speakers are being finalized now but will include presentations by the Surdna Foundation and STAR Communities on national initiatives and eight presentations and facilitated discussions on critical topics related to implementation for sustainable communities.

Developing Certification Actions

As you are working on certification actions, do you wonder who developed them? Sustainable Jersey actions are developed by 22 issue-based Task Forces through a transparent, participatory process. Over 300 leaders in New Jersey volunteer to serve on the Sustainable Jersey Task Forces from academia, the non-profit sector, the business community, and state, local, federal, and county government. The Task Forces research and disseminate best practices, translate global and state imperatives into local actions, test sustainability planning models and develop community resources for the program. The recommended best practices and actions are vetted with local government officials. Interested in joining a Task Force? Fill out an application and email it to [email protected].

Preparing for Climate Change and Flooding

Sustainable Jersey developed a new set of resources and actions to help municipalities deal with the impacts of increased flooding that is predicted to occur. Sustainable Jersey formed a Climate Adaptation Task Force to develop actions municipalities could complete to assess their town's situation and prepare. Two new on-line tools will provide local decision-makers with a wealth of information about the current and future resiliency of their communities. The tools will include a NJ Flood Mapper, an interactive GIS tool that will provide visual representations of different flooding scenarios and a "Getting to Resilience: Community Planning Evaluation Tool" that will define specific strategies the community can implement to improve resilience to flood related hazards.

Enhanced Incentives to Assist Sandy Flood Victims

Enhanced Clean Energy Program (CEP) incentives are now available for energy efficient upgrades in homes, schools, businesses and local government buildings damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The CEP is increasing rebate levels by $200 for residents who choose high energy-efficient equipment and appliances, such as furnaces, boilers and water heaters, to replace items damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy. Review the guide of programs available, or visit NJ Clean Energy Program for more information.

Mark Your Calendar

• Northern New Jersey Sustainable Resources & Networking Forum: April 16
• ACUA Earth Day Festival: April 21
• Franklin Lakes Celebrate Earth Day: April 21st
• Ocean Fun Days: June 8 & 9
• Sustainable Jersey certification application submission deadline: June 16, 2013

Our Sponsors

Sustainable Jersey is underwritten by:







Leader for Sustainability:



Partner for Sustainability:



Friends of Sustainability:

Friends of Sustainability (contin.):

Contributor to Sustainability:

And special thanks to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for their very special contribution to fund the 2009-2011 Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program.