ICLEI Sets 81 Sustainability Goals for Local Governments

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The ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability has released 81 sustainability goals and 10 guiding principles to help local governments create more sustainable communities. These sustainability goals are grouped into three categories -- environment, economy and society.

The STAR Community Index Sustainability Goals and Guiding Principles define community-scale sustainability and set a national standard for local governments. They will help local governments create or revise a sustainability plan, conduct a sustainability assessment, establish local sustainability priorities and focus ongoing sustainability initiatives.

The ten guiding principles are:

1. Think-and act-systemically.

2. Instill resiliency.

3. Foster innovation.

4. Redefine progress.

5. Live within means

6. Cultivate collaboration.

7. Ensure equity

8. Embrace diversity.

9. Inspire leadership.

10. Continuously improve.

These goals and principles also will be the foundation for the organization's national rating system that will deliver a roadmap for sustainable communities.

The upcoming STAR Community Index, which is a performance-based sustainability management system, will deliver a framework for sustainability with goals and validation measures for local government and community functions, an online data-management platform that gathers, organizes, analyzes, and presents information required to meet community and government sustainability goals, and a management model and rating system that drive continuous improvement in communities.

The full STAR performance management system will be released in early 2012. STAR is being developed by ICLEI in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, National League of Cities, and Center for American Progress.

The new goals and principles can be used in conjunction with ICLEI’s Five Milestones for Sustainability. In September, the organization announced that 20 cities and counties achieved significant milestones in reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on the Five Milestone process.

In February, ICLEI USA, together with the city of Chicago, launched the Green Office Challenge as one strategy to help the city reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020. The program also was adopted by four local governments in Charleston, SC; Nashville, TN; San Diego/Port of San Diego, CA and Arlington County, VA.

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