As reported by Sustainable Jersey, 82 municipalities, from 20 New Jersey counties, achieved the prestigious Sustainable Jersey certification in 2019 – and Highland Park is one of them. The borough actually is one of only 27 municipalities to win certification at a prestigious “silver” level community, earning an impressive 515 points. At 80 percent participation, Sustainable Jersey has 450 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities engaged in the certification program.
“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.
In the 2019 application cycle, 27 municipalities achieved certification at the more advanced silver-level, requiring that a town meet a minimum of 350 points: Asbury Park, Bernards, Bordentown City, Bordentown Township, Brick, Ewing, Franklin (Somerset County), Galloway, Glen Ridge, Haddonfield, Hawthorne, Highland Park, Hillsborough, Island Heights, Lawrence, Lincoln Park, Madison, Maplewood, Middletown, Moorestown, Ocean City, Paramus, Summit, Waterford, West Windsor, Woodbridge and Wyckoff (see list below). A municipality certified at the bronze-level must submit documentation to show it has completed a balance of the program’s sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 points.
Sustainable Jersey provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability initiatives. The program culminates in a certification award to municipalities and schools that have documented meeting a set of standards. Sustainable Jersey participants have successfully implemented and documented over 16,500 sustainability actions. Over $5.6 million in grants have been provided by Sustainable Jersey to towns, school districts and schools for community-based projects that create healthy and sustainable communities in New Jersey.
Sustainable Jersey will celebrate the certified and participating municipalities at its Annual Sustainable Jersey Luncheon held on the first day of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) Conference on November 19, 2019. The luncheon brings together over 300 local and regional government officials, green team members, industry professionals and sustainability leaders. The program will celebrate sustainability excellence, innovation and leadership in New Jersey. The event is open to the public, register: https://bit.ly/2019SJAwardsLuncheon.
2019 SUSTAINABLE JERSEY CERTIFIED MUNICIPALITIES (alphabetical by county)
| County | Logo Name | Level | Points |
| Atlantic | Buena Vista | Bronze | 190 |
| Atlantic | Galloway | Silver | 415 |
| Atlantic | Hammonton | Bronze | 285 |
| Bergen | Bergenfield | Bronze | 150 |
| Bergen | Englewood City | Bronze | 170 |
| Bergen | Fort Lee | Bronze | 150 |
| Bergen | Oakland | Bronze | 170 |
| Bergen | Paramus | Silver | 360 |
| Bergen | Ridgefield Park | Bronze | 230 |
| Bergen | Teaneck | Bronze | 190 |
| Bergen | Westwood | Bronze | 210 |
| Bergen | Wyckoff | Silver | 375 |
| Burlington | Bordentown City | Silver | 535 |
| Burlington | Bordentown Township | Silver | 360 |
| Burlington | Burlington Township | Bronze | 175 |
| Burlington | Chesterfield | Bronze | 155 |
| Burlington | Delran | Bronze | 160 |
| Burlington | Evesham | Bronze | 285 |
| Burlington | Maple Shade | Bronze | 155 |
| Burlington | Moorestown | Silver | 365 |
| Camden | Audubon | Bronze | 155 |
| Camden | Camden City | Bronze | 160 |
| Camden | Collingswood | Bronze | 235 |
| Camden | Gloucester City | Bronze | 160 |
| Camden | Haddonfield | Silver | 365 |
| Camden | Voorhees | Bronze | 265 |
| Camden | Waterford | Silver | 360 |
| Camden | Winslow | Bronze | 180 |
| Cape May | Ocean City | Silver | 355 |
| Cape May | Upper Township | Bronze | 205 |
| Cape May | West Cape May | Bronze | 165 |
| Cumberland | Vineland | Bronze | 225 |
| Essex | Glen Ridge | Silver | 385 |
| Essex | Maplewood | Silver | 440 |
| Essex | Montclair | Bronze | 235 |
| Essex | Nutley | Bronze | 205 |
| Essex | South Orange Village | Bronze | 255 |
| Essex | West Orange | Bronze | 250 |
| Gloucester | Washington Township | Bronze | 330 |
| Hunterdon | Frenchtown | Bronze | 160 |
| Hunterdon | Holland | Bronze | 200 |
| Hunterdon | Readington | Bronze | 270 |
| Mercer | Ewing | Silver | 500 |
| Mercer | Lawrence | Silver | 415 |
| Mercer | Pennington | Bronze | 165 |
| Mercer | West Windsor | Silver | 405 |
| Middlesex | Cranbury | Bronze | 185 |
| Middlesex | East Brunswick | Bronze | 200 |
| Middlesex | Highland Park | Silver | 515 |
| Middlesex | Jamesburg | Bronze | 155 |
| Middlesex | Metuchen | Bronze | 210 |
| Middlesex | Woodbridge | Silver | 1160 |
| Monmouth | Asbury Park | Silver | 375 |
| Monmouth | Eatontown | Bronze | 210 |
| Monmouth | Long Branch | Bronze | 200 |
| Monmouth | Manalapan | Bronze | 180 |
| Monmouth | Marlboro | Bronze | 185 |
| Monmouth | Middletown | Silver | 355 |
| Morris | Chester Township | Bronze | 175 |
| Morris | Hanover | Bronze | 165 |
| Morris | Lincoln Park | Silver | 375 |
| Morris | Madison | Silver | 605 |
| Morris | Mount Olive | Bronze | 190 |
| Morris | Washington Township | Bronze | 160 |
| Ocean | Bay Head | Bronze | 150 |
| Ocean | Brick | Silver | 365 |
| Ocean | Island Heights | Silver | 430 |
| Ocean | Manchester | Bronze | 170 |
| Ocean | Point Pleasant Beach | Bronze | 200 |
| Passaic | Clifton | Bronze | 175 |
| Passaic | Hawthorne | Silver | 500 |
| Salem | Elsinboro | Bronze | 165 |
| Salem | Lower Alloways Creek | Bronze | 205 |
| Somerset | Bernards | Silver | 420 |
| Somerset | Bernardsville | Bronze | 160 |
| Somerset | Franklin | Silver | 460 |
| Somerset | Hillsborough | Silver | 525 |
| Sussex | Hopatcong | Bronze | 240 |
| Union | Roselle Park | Bronze | 165 |
| Union | Summit | Silver | 640 |
| Warren | Hope | Bronze | 165 |
| Warren | Washington Borough | Bronze | 190 |
About the Sustainable Jersey Annual Awards Luncheon
Over 300 people are expected to attend the awards ceremony to see town mayors and green teams accept their awards; the Sustainable Jersey Annual Awards Luncheon at the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ Conference will take place on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.
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.
Website: www.SustainableJersey.com; www.SustainableJerseySchools.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SJ_Program; www.twitter.com/SJ_Schools
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