Sustainable Jersey – Sage Lang – 2018

Goals

Sustainable Jersey is a non-profit organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. EDF Climate Corps fellow Sage Lang worked with Little Egg Harbor Township, Little Egg Harbor School District, and Ocean Gate Borough to help them understand and implement energy efficiency projects while working towards Sustainable Jersey Certification.

Solutions

All three entities were looking to understand their energy usage, pursue opportunities to improve efficiency, and revitalize their Green Teams in order to achieve Sustainable Jersey Certifications. Lang created energy tracking and management systems for the communities that did not already have them in place. This helped guide decision-making and provided a baseline for future energy projects.

Little Egg Harbor School District was motivated to achieve Bronze Certification. To help them reach that challenging goal, she created a suite of materials to help simplify the process and provide a roadmap to follow.

Little Egg Harbor Township and Ocean Gate Borough were looking to pursue energy efficiency upgrades while working with tight budgets. Lang analyzed the state incentives and helped the communities apply for the programs that best fit their needs.

Potential Impact

Working with both the Township and the School District of Little Egg Harbor presented the unique opportunity to facilitate collaboration between the two. A meeting between the Green Teams at each organization set the stage for future partnerships and opportunities to pursue sustainability projects as a team. Each client now has a thorough understanding of their energy usage, the tools to manage it in the future, and an understanding of the state incentives available to finance energy projects. All clients have a roadmap to certification, which will place them among the most sustainable communities in New Jersey.