Sustainable Jersey representatives recently announced that Mt. Olive has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification.  Mt. Olive is one of 74 towns that have attained certification in 2016 and was honored at the Sustainable Jersey awards luncheon on Tues., Nov. 15, in Atlantic City.

To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Mt. Olive submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 action points. In addition to reaching 150 points, each certified community had to create a green team and select at least two out of 11 priority action options. Mt. Olive did many priority actions by completing energy tracking and management, implementing energy efficiency measures, fleet inventory, prescription drug safety and disposal as well as increases their communication with the community.

“Sustainable Jersey is incredibly proud of the 74 New Jersey towns that achieved certification this year,” said Donna Drewes, co-director of Sustainable Jersey. “The 198 Sustainable Jersey certified towns demonstrate leadership and are a testament to how much we can accomplish toward the long-term goal of a sustainable New Jersey.”

Certified towns excelled in areas such as improving energy efficiency and health and wellness, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources and advancing the arts.

Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently, 78 percent or 440 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 218 school districts and 538 schools are participating in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.