PARSIPPANY — Sustainable Jersey representatives announced that the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification. Parsippany is one of 52 municipalities that have attained certification in 2021 and was honored at the Sustainable Jersey Annual Luncheon on November 16, 2021, in Atlantic City at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference. Sustainable Jersey’s participating communities represent over 81 percent of the state’s municipalities.
“This has been four years in the making,” said Mayor Michael Soriano. “I’m proud of our Township employees who worked so hard in putting this together, and finally achieving this important benchmark for our community. Thanks to the tremendous support we’ve received from Sustainable Jersey and our Parsippany Green Team, we have set the stage for the Township to become Silver Certified next year, and Gold Certified in the years ahead. Sustainability is the best way we can address the critical challenges facing our region and our world. Through green initiatives, we can invigorate our economy, and continue being good stewards of God’s earth.”
To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Parsippany submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 action points. In addition, each certified community had to create a green team and select at least two out of thirteen priority action options. Parsippany completed two of the 13 priority actions by implementing a prescription drug safety and disposal program and a sustainable land use pledge.
“The certified towns exemplify the commitment we need to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. As New Jersey faces issues such as the climate crisis, a growing equity divide and environmental pollution, it is essential that we support municipalities as they do the hard work to meet these challenges at the local level,” said Randall Solomon, executive director of Sustainable Jersey. “These communities are helping New Jersey build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic and it is our honor to work with them as we strive for a better tomorrow!” 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.
About Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
Known as The Crossroads of Northern New Jersey, Parsippany is the largest municipality in Morris County, with over 56,000 residents and counting. Adopting sustainable and environmentally conscious practices to address climate issues could have considerable impacts on adoption by other municipalities in the region. Increased focus on sustainable living has shown improvements to community health, neighborhood aesthetics, and many other higher standards to living.
About Sustainable Jersey
Sustainable Jersey provides tools, training, and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. As New Jersey faces issues such as the climate crisis, a growing equity divide, and environmental pollution, municipalities want to be a part of the solution to these challenges. Sustainable Jersey participants (municipalities and schools) have successfully implemented and documented over 20,826 sustainability actions. Sustainable Jersey has provided over $6.7 million in grants to municipalities, school districts, and schools for community-based projects that create healthy and sustainable communities in New Jersey. Sustainable Jersey is administered by The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey.
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