Locals Help Municipalities Go Green as a Team

Members of Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn Green Teams met at the end of February to discuss ways the three groups could work together on sustainability issues. 

All three towns originally formed Green Teams as part of the Sustainable Jersey certification program. Each town has been certified by Sustainable Jersey, but must keep working on certification actions in order to maintain the certification.  

The following residents participated:

• Walter Clarke, South Orange Green Team
• Tracey Woods, Maplewood Green Team
• Claudia Thornton, Millburn Green Team
• Fred Profeta, Maplewood Green Team
• Kristy Ranieri, Maplewood Green Team
• Rene Paparian, Millburn Green Team
• Ellen Ingber, Millburn Green Team
• James McGowan, South Orange Green Team

Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey.  Launched in 2009, Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports community efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity.

It provides tools, training and financial incentives to support and reward communities as they pursue sustainability programs.  Sustainable Jersey is one hundred percent voluntary and each town can choose whether it wants to get certified and the actions it wants to do in order to achieve enough points to get certified.