Sustainable Jersey representatives in November announced that Manchester Township has again met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification. Manchester Township is one of 83 municipalities that have attained certification in 2019 and was honored at the recent Sustainable Jersey awards luncheon in Atlantic City. Gary Sylvester, director of of the Department of Inspection, Land Use and Planning, and Joseph Veni, supervising engineer in the Department of Public Works, were honored to accept the award on behalf of Manchester Township.

“Environmental sustainability is a key concern for us all, and Manchester Township is proud to once again participate in the Sustainable New Jersey program. I’m proud of the continued effort our Township employees put forth into maintaining this prestigious distinction,” said Mayor Kenneth Palmer.

 

To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Manchester Township submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 action points. In addition to reaching 150 points, each certified community had to create a green team and select at least 2 out of 12 priority action options. Manchester Township completed the following priority actions: creating a Green Team; writing Community Wildfire Protection Plans; creating a Ready, Set, Go program; identifying vulnerable populations for emergencies; creating a Wildfire Safety Council; creating a Wind Ordinance; creating an Anti-Idling Education and Enforcement Program; designing and building a Rain Garden; taking the Sustainable Land Use Pledge; having an Environmental Commission; having an Open Space and Recreation Plan; creating a Clustering Ordinance; creating an Environmental Impact Statement Ordinance; creating a Tree Protection Ordinance; having a Prescription Drug Safety and Disposal Program; hosting a Community Paper Shredding Day; accepting Household Hazardous Waste; and housing a Recycling Depot.

“Congratulations to all of the municipalities that have achieved certification this year,” said Randy Solomon, executive director of Sustainable Jersey. “Earning certification involves more than just implementing sustainable actions. It takes extraordinary leadership and a real commitment to making our communities better. As New Jersey tops the list as one of the fastest-warming states in the nation, the next ten years will be a critical period for making progress. Sustainable Jersey certified towns are a force for change as they create a path forward to advance sustainability.” Certified towns excelled in areas such as improving energy efficiency, health and wellness, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources and advancing the arts.

Manchester Township is home to a considerable amount of open space land, so it is a focus of township officials to ensure our environment is protected for both residents and visitors to enjoy. It is important that we continue to preserve our beautiful parks, forests and bodies of water for future generations to come.

About Sustainable Jersey

Sustainable Jersey provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently, 80 percent or 450 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 339 school districts and 884 schools are participating in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.

Sustainable Jersey’s partners include the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program. Program underwriters include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program, the PSEG Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Sustainable Jersey Grants program for municipalities is funded by PSEG Foundation and the Gardinier Environmental Fund. Platinum and 10th Anniversary sponsors are South Jersey Gas, New Jersey Natural Gas and PSEG. The Gold Sponsor is Elizabethtown Gas (10th Anniversary Sponsor). Silver Sponsors are NJM Insurance Group (10th Anniversary Sponsor), Bayshore Recycling (10th Anniversary Sponsor), Northfield Bank (10th Anniversary Sponsor), New Jersey American Water (10th Anniversary Sponsor), Jersey Central Power & Light (10th Anniversary Sponsor), Atlantic Health System (10th Anniversary Sponsor) and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. The Bronze Sponsors are Covanta, Greener by Design, Ørsted, Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Cappelli LLC, First Environment, Roux Associates, Republic Services, The ECG Group and Bryan Electric.

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