The needs of the future must not be sacrificed
to the demands of the present.
Humanity’s economic future is linked to the
integrity of natural systems.
The present world system is not sustainable
because it is not meeting the needs of many, especially the poor.
Protecting the environment is impossible unless
we improve the economic prospects of the Earth’s poorest peoples.
We must act to preserve as many options as
possible for future generations, since they have the right to determine
their own needs for themselves.
The Sustainable State
the concept of sustainability received significant international attention
as early as the 1980s, its importance has only more recently been acknowledged
in the United States. In fact, New Jersey’s Sustainable State Project
is the first of its kind in the United States.
Our first steps toward sustainability
began with a trip to the Netherlands in 1994. There, New Jersey policy
makers got their first look at sustainable development efforts in action.
In particular, they saw the Netherlands’ success in building consensus
around goals, and involving business and private citizens in the realization
of those goals.
The desire to take steps to
create a Sustainable New Jersey was then articulated at the first Sustainable
State Leadership Conference in 1995, co-hosted by the State of New Jersey
and New Jersey Future at Princeton University. Nearly 200 leaders from
business, the environmental movement, civic groups, and academia met
to start the official process of bringing sustainable development to
That conference provided the
impetus for a broad public process to create the goals and indicators
outlined in Living with the Future in Mind. These goals and indicators
received extensive public review in statewide conferences, regional
workshops, and countless small working sessions before they were officially
Living with the Future
in Mind outlines what is necessary
to achieve sustainability and lays out a clear way to track our progress.
It has created a starting point for discussions about achieving a Sustainable
New Jersey: A Year of Action
Over the past year, the effort
to make New Jersey a Sustainable State has steadily gained momentum.
Living with the Future in Mind provides a conceptual basis for
New Jersey to become a Sustainable State, a picture of what it will
look like when we get there. Government and private partners are no
longer treating sustainability as simply the "buzzword of the day,"
but are developing real, implementable strategies to make it happen.
On May 20, 1999, at the New
Jersey Future Sustainable State Conference, Governor Whitman signed
Executive Order No. 96. E.O. 96 endorsed Living with the Future in
Mind’s 11 goals and 41 indicators, noting that they "offer valuable
practical guidance to the State of New Jersey in our efforts to achieve
long-term sustainability for the benefit of current and future generations."
The Governor’s Executive Order directed state departments to:
a. Pursue, as appropriate,
policies which comport with the 11 sustainability goals outlined in
New Jersey Future’s Living With the Future in Mind report.
Collaborate in the exchange of information among departments and agencies,
and establish institutional mechanisms to encourage and facilitate
achievement of these goals.
c. Report to the Governor
on June 1, 2000, and every year thereafter, on their progress toward
To move forward with Executive
Order No. 96, an Interagency Sustainable State Working Group, composed
of representatives from all Cabinet departments, other commissions and
agencies, and New Jersey Future, was created. Governor Whitman asked
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert C. Shinn,
Jr. to lead the efforts of this Interagency Group.
This updated report and the
forthcoming companion report, Governing with the Future in Mind,
are the products of the Interagency Group’s effort. The original Sustainable
State Review Committee, including representatives from business, environmental,
and civic groups, also contributed to this report. The Interagency Group
will continue its work of coordinating policies and strategies developed
to achieve sustainability.
Sustainable Business Conference
Over 300 business leaders from
large and small firms attended the first annual New Jersey Sustainable
Business Conference on April 18, 2000. This conference highlighted successful
business efforts in the area of sustainable development and laid the
groundwork for future initiatives. Many conference participants walked
away with a newfound awareness that it is possible for business to be
socially responsible, to go beyond strict compliance with environmental
law, and to be highly profitable at the same time.
Goal-based Agency Strategic
agencies, acting in accordance with the concept of comprehensive
goal-based planning, have adopted their own strategic plans.
These plans often contain goals that are identical to or that
support the Sustainable State Project goals. They also contain
indicators of progress toward goals that were developed with
considerable public input. Examples of comprehensive goal-based
plans are the
Department of Environmental Protection’s Strategic Plan
and 1999/2000 National Environmental Performance Partnership
System (NEPPS) plan; the Department of Transportation’s
Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan, Transportation
Choices 2020; and the 2000 edition of the Department of
Health and Senior Services’ Healthy New Jersey 2010. Many
of the quantitative targets provided for the indicators in
this Sustainable State report were made available through
these agency strategic plans.
the Future in Mind
Governor Whitman’s Executive
Order No. 96 requires state agencies to develop and implement strategies
– or in some cases refine existing strategies – to support sustainability.
The creation of a Sustainable
State will not happen overnight, nor will one strategy, action, or decision
be the magic elixir. Rather, it will be a long-term process involving
sets of interconnected strategies and actions. The involved stakeholders
will make continual corrections and adjustments. The important point
is that all parties communicate and cooperate.
A number of State agencies
are pursuing various strategies that specifically support New Jersey
Sustainable State efforts. Through these strategies, statewide improvements
in one or more of the three spheres – environment, economy, and society
– will be attained. To succeed, most of these strategies will require
both interagency coordination and partnerships with other levels of
government and private and nonprofit entities.
These strategies will be outlined
in Governing with the Future in Mind. This report will be the
product of the State’s first attempt to develop cross-agency strategies
for achieving sustainability goals. A substantial interagency effort
will be required for its development and publication. The report is
expected to be released in March 2001.
The primary focus of Governing
with the Future in Mind will be the initiatives undertaken by state
agencies in the quest for sustainability, and it will include:
Discussions of comprehensive sustainability efforts and
projects that will affect nearly every goal and involve a number of
agencies. (For example: the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.)
Descriptions on a goal-by-goal basis of broad-based state
agency strategies that will contribute to the realization of sustainability
and affect other Sustainable State Project goals in the process. (For
example, a particular strategy may be primarily designed to advance
Economic Vitality but may also have a significant effect on Equity.)
Recommendations on the institutionalization of the Sustainable
State Goals and Indicators in New Jersey.
Recommendations for changes and additions to the list of
indicators in Living with the Future in Mind.
Examples of some of the broad-based
strategies that are currently or projected to significantly affect sustainability
Land Use Management Initiatives
In Living with the Future
in Mind, it was noted that "a sustainable state cannot be achieved
without tackling land use." Efforts in this area over the past year include:
Enacting the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act" to
establish a stable source of funding and the procedural
framework for open space preservation.
Implementing various aspects of the State Development
and Redevelopment Plan (State Plan) including:
||Establishing State Agency
Implementation Teams to coordinate agency programs and initiatives
with the goals and objectives of the State Plan
||Awarding $2.4 million in 21 Smart Growth
Planning Grants to assist 92 municipalities and seven counties
in devising strategies to curb sprawl;
||Aligning state regulations,
including the Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA),
regulations, with the goals and objectives of the State
||Establishing the Sustainable Development/Affordable
Housing Pilot Program, designed to promote affordable, energy-efficient
||Introducing the Transit Village Program
to create development centered around passenger rail and
bus stations and to help communities to leverage more private-sector
||Promoting community design strategies
that incorporate compact, mixed use development, through
publications such as Designing New Jersey.
Greenhouse Gas Sustainability
This plan commits the State
to pursue energy conservation, pollution prevention, innovative technologies,
recycling, solid waste management, and natural resource protection strategies
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.5 percent below 1990 levels
(about 20 million tons annual reduction) by the year 2005 across all
sectors. This plan, the first of its kind in the nation, was unveiled
in April 2000.
"The Electric Discount and
Energy Competition Act" (EDECA) of 1999 promotes the use of energy efficiency
and renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaics, wind energy,
and fuel cells to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Act established
a new Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund for energy efficiency
programs and renewable energy technologies over and above the current
Greening the Economy
The New Jersey Office of Sustainable
Business, created in 1997, is the first such office in the country.
The Office administers a multi-million dollar Sustainable Development
Loan Fund to assist firms in the green sector of the economy. The Office
is also developing policies to encourage state government to purchase
more sustainable products and services. In April 2000, the Office released
Greening the Garden State, which profiles 300 firms with green
products and services in New Jersey’s energy, remanufacturing, agriculture,
and chemical sectors.
Protection and Smart Growth
In June 2000, the Department
of Environmental Protection proposed water quality and watershed management
rules linking enhanced protection of water quality and quantity to smart
growth and sustainable development.
Quality Education for All
A number of fundamental reforms
to public education in New Jersey are being implemented. These include
statewide implementation of the Core Curriculum Content and Cross-Content
Workplace Readiness Standards and development of an assessment system
aligned to the new standards for the fourth and eighth grade tests in
Language Arts Literacy and Science. In addition, Whole School Reform
has been implemented in the Abbott Districts. Also, effective September
2000, all licensed teachers must obtain 100 hours of professional development
over five years.
Initiatives have been implemented
to improve the safety of New Jersey residents. One strategy builds upon
and institutionalizes community-based anti-crime programs that invite
the participation of citizens and make use of "problem solving" policing
strategies. The pilot Drug Court Initiative Program enables drug and
alcohol-dependent offenders to participate in treatment programs aiming
to reduce recidivism.
The various initiatives described
above demonstrate the momentum in New Jersey toward sustainability.
It is always a challenge to
ensure that strategies designed to implement a plan remain faithful
to that plan’s guiding vision. This is especially true for a plan as
complex and far-reaching as the Sustainable State Project, which requires
the participation and coordination of many parties, including state
and local governments, private businesses, and non-profit organizations.
Indeed, its success demands the participation and input of all New Jersey
Measuring our progress towards
sustainability is a major challenge. Proper and adequate data collection,
assessment, and management are essential. In addition, each of the 41
indicators in Living with the Future in Mind has limitations
and associated knowledge gaps. A lack of quality information can substantially
inhibit the utility of this approach.
A significant number of the
knowledge gaps in Living with the Future in Mind still
remain and have been carried through to this report. As we learn more
about what is required for us to be a Sustainable State, we will need
to better track and assess the trends that will measure the progress
of New Jersey’s sustainability efforts.
Another challenge lies in maintaining
the strength of the public-private partnership that this report represents.
The ongoing participation of state and local government agencies, private
businesses, and nonprofit organizations will be necessary. It is clear
that controversial decisions will be made that will not please everyone.
As we move forward, we must ensure that the goals and indicators are
created and debated in an open, public, and fair process. Such a process
provides the best opportunities for fostering creative ideas and finding
Because sustainability is a constantly
evolving concept, new ideas and strategies will be proposed. As
we gain a better knowledge of the most effective strategies to achieve
sustainability, it will often necessary to make corrections. The
challenge is to remain flexible, monitor results, change strategies
as necessary, and then move forward.
Proceeding in this manner offers
not only challenges and opportunities, but allows new ideas to flourish.
For example, in the past, environmental protection often called for
a rigid command and control regulatory structure. However, a new results-based
paradigm uses the Sustainable State Goals to allow more flexibility.
Known in New Jersey as the Flexible Track Regulatory Program (or the
"Silver" and "Gold" Tracks), this program combines strong enforcement
with flexibility for those in the regulated community who display continued
evidence of compliance, and provides additional flexibility for those
willing to go beyond compliance. This approach promises to be even more
protective of the environment and at the same time more economically
The pursuit of sustainability,
in many cases, will provide opportunities to "think outside
the box." It will offer a forum for new ideas that otherwise
might not be considered. During the process, as state
agencies and others pursue strategies necessary to achieve
sustainability, New Jersey residents will enjoy an improved
quality of life.