Goals:
Following the success of New Milford's Sustainable Jersey Bronze Certification in 2021, the Green Team is working towards recertification and possibly an upgrade to Silver level in the next cycle of certification. the current Bronze status is valid till 2024.
The Green Team will continue Energy Tracking for Municipal Buildings and also work with Sustainable Jersey for possible Energy upgrades.
Suggestions on best practices for “greener” municipal operations and adopting Green Purchasing Programs.
Objectives:
Apply to available Sustainable Jersey grant programs in support of the Borough’s efforts to track energy consumption and improve energy utilization efficiency.
Encourage participation of residents and employees to solicit ideas and implement green initiatives.
Research and analyze green initiatives which make practical environmental and financial sense and develop strategies for sustainable green initiatives in municipal Operations.
Current Projects:
Sustainable Jersey Bronze Certification:
The Borough of New Milford was awarded the Sustainable Jersey Bronze Certification in 2021. Along with bronze Certification, New Milford also won the Rookie Award for achieving 190 points. Minimum points requirement for Bronze certification is 150 points and completion of 2 priority actions.
Sustainable Jersey certification is a FREE, voluntary, and prestigious designation for municipal governments in New Jersey. Municipalities that achieve certification are considered by their peers, state government and experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leaders in the state. For more details on the actions please visit https://www.sustainablejersey.com/certification/
2021 Free Technical Assistance for Energy Initiatives:
Through the Green team, New Milford was selected in the Sustainable Jersey’s Technical Assistance Program for 2021. This program enabled the improvement of facility operations through energy analysis, planning and upgrades. SJ staff with in-depth training in energy project assessment and development worked with New Milford Staff and the Green team for approximately 10-12 weeks during spring 2021. Following the Technical Assistance Program, the Green Team began tracking Energy utilization of major Municipal buildings through ESPM (Energy Star Portfolio Management). Logging data on ESPM provides New Milford to avail the State sponsored programs for Energy upgrades and incentives.
Fleet Inventory:
In October 2020, the Green team applied for the Sustainable Jersey Gardinier Environmental Fund to complete a municipal fleet assessment. Though New Milford was not awarded the Grant, based on feedback from Sustainable Jersey, the Green team advocated the need for Municipal Fleet Inventory. The Fleet Inventory is maintained by DPW and the data collected will be used to calculate the CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), CH4 (Methane), and N2O (Nitrous Oxide) emissions based on the inputted fuel use. The Fleet Inventory data is also helpful for planning and budgeting purposes.
If you would like to get in touch with the New Milford Green team, please feel free to reach us via email here.
For all volunteering queries, please reach out to us via email here.
