Sustainable Jersey – Christopher Lavallee – 2016

Goals:

Two municipalities and one large school district in Ocean County, NJ, have registered to participate in Sustainable Jersey’s new program. All three want to increase the number of energy efficiency projects that would score them points toward achieving a higher Sustainable Jersey certification. Looking for support in urging these communities to take advantage of from free audits and plan the next steps for energy projects moving forward, Sustainable Jersey enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Chris Lavallee.

Solutions:

Using electricity data from utility bills, Chris created energy baselines for the two townships to be submitted for free government energy audits. The school district had already applied for an audit, but had not yet formed green teams, a mandatory requirement for achieving Sustainable Jersey certification. As a solution, Chris developed both district and school green teams, and encouraged schools to apply for the PowerSave Schools program–a funding resource that incorporates energy-efficiency as part of the curricula to better educate students on sustainability. Seeing the need for long-term direction on the certification process, he crafted a guide on Sustainable Jersey’s point-system for towns and schools who have already conducted an energy audit.

Potential Impact:

Chris’s work streamlined the application for these three municipalities. Moving forward, other townships and schools can replicate this process and achieve certification with greater ease. Through energy audits and the PowerSave Schools grants program, communities can implement practices that lead to significant energy and cost savings.