ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability’s STAR Community Index (STAR), a sustainability rating system and performance management tool in development for local governments, selected nine cities and counties to help design and test its online platform.
Cities chosen are Atlanta, Boulder, St. Louis, New York, Des Moines, Chattanooga, and the District of Columbia, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, and King County, Washington, round out the list of STAR “beta communities.”
These STAR beta communities will collaborate with ICLEI to design performance management software for cities and counties to more effectively gather and evaluate data, and report on their sustainability efforts. STAR aims to transform and accelerate the sustainability movement by developing this local-level roadmap for advancing climate protection that can then be rolled out in other communities.
ICLEI and beta communities will road test STAR to ensure that it can be adopted by local governments around the country, ranging from small towns to major cities.
The plan, developed in partnership with the USGBC, National League of Cities, the Center for American Progress, and more than 150 sustainability experts and organizations, has five basic milestones: assessment, goal setting, plan development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
The plan includes other initiatives, and has identified an additional 81 sustainability goals and 10 guiding principles for communities to qualify progress toward greater sustainability in communities.
“These nine early-adopter cities … are the perfect candidates to advance the goals and mission of STAR, which is to build healthier, inclusive and more livable communities,” said Martin Chavez, Executive Director, ICLEI USA.