Award Presented at New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference

Montclair, NJ (November 23, 2009) – Sustainable Jersey representatives announced today that the Township of Montclair has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey Certification.

Montclair is one of just 34 towns – out of 240 registered municipalities – that attained certification in the first year of the program. The township was honored at the Sustainable Jersey awards ceremony last week at the League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City; Mayor Jerry Fried accepted the award.

 “For a long time Montclair has led the way with green and sustainable initiatives, and we’re proud to be one of the very first towns in the state to achieve this confirmation of our green successes”, said Fried.

Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for New Jersey municipalities that want to go green, control costs and save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term.

To become certified with Sustainable Jersey, Montclair Environmental Coordinator Gray Russell had to submit documentation to show the Township had completed enough of the required sustainability actions to meet the minimum of 100 Action Points. Communities also had to create a Green Team, and select at least two out of four priority action options. Montclair reached 150 points, and completed two of the four priority actions by both conducting a comprehensive energy audit for all municipal facilities and also creating a Sustainable Land Use Pledge by the Township Council.

“The 2009 certified towns are the Sustainable Jersey pioneers that can forever boast that they were the first, having achieved certification in Year One of the program,” said Fred Profeta, Maplewood’s Deputy Mayor for the Environment and Chair of the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ “Mayors Committee for a Green Future”. “The awards salute the first-rate municipalities that have led the way in developing sustainability initiatives in New Jersey.”

Certified towns excelled in areas such as improving energy efficiency, health and wellness, smart land use and transportation, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources, and addressing diversity and equity.

“These are exceptional towns with outstanding programs that set an example for all of us because they have taken the responsibility to cultivate a better environment,” said Randall Solomon, Sustainable Jersey program partner and Executive Director of the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University. Sustainable Jersey program partner Donna Drewes, of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, congratulated the certified towns. “Our winners are elite municipal leaders, making extraordinary contributions toward the long-term goal of a sustainable state, nation, and world.”

New Jersey is the first state in the nation to have a comprehensive sustainability program for communities that links certification with strong state and private financial incentives, and a fully resourced program of technical support and training.

About Sustainable Jersey

The innovative new program is an initiative of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center at the College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Rutgers Center for Green Building, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and a coalition of New Jersey non-profits, state agencies, and experts in the field.

To learn more about the Sustainable Jersey certification visit www.sustainablejersey.com. Program sponsors include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, PSEG, Church and Dwight, New Jersey Natural Gas, Covanta Energy, Nautilus Solar, the Smart Energy Group and Xerox.