The climate action plan is entering its final stage of review as the West Windsor Environmental Commission seeks to address climate change and reduce emissions through solutions at the municipal level. The plan has been sent to the Rutgers Climate Institute for peer review. The review will be of no charge to the township and is expected to take at least a month. Once reviewed by Rutgers, public meetings will be held to present the plan and solicit community feedback.
The goal of the action plan is to make residents aware that climate change is an extraordinarily serious issue and educate the community on ways to reduce emissions, says commission chairman Michael Hornsby.
According to the report West Windsor’s annual carbon footprint is 400,000 tons, based on data from 2012. Hornsby says municipal government accounts for 1 percent of emissions, with residences, businesses, and transportation accounting for the rest.
A $25,000 grant won in 2011 funded the development of the climate action plan (CAP), and the Spiezle Architecture group was hired to help with financial planning and evaluating select tasks based on cost-benefit analysis. The grant was awarded by Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit that works with municipalities to implement sustainability programs. West Windsor township registered for the Sustainability Jersey program in 2009 and the municipality received the organization’s highest recognition, silver certification, in 2010, followed by recertification last year.
One task within CAP is for the township to establish its own green practice recognition program, which would be awarded to qualified businesses and other large organizations. A task beneficial for residents would be free energy audits through the NJ Clean Energy Program, which would provide homeowners with financial and technical recommendations for making homes greener and more energy efficient.
The action plan also has a prioritized list for upgrades to municipal buildings, based on an energy audit performed in early 2013. The remodeling aims for utility cost savings and Hornsby says the list represents recommendations.
And as the township prepares to explore third-party energy purchases for its municipal buildings, this represents an opportunity to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources, also known as the green component.
“What would business as usual cost?” Hornsby says. “We are looking at around a 25 percent green component. The commission supports a green as possible component.”
Having approved a resolution last August, the commission also continues to advocate for a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) resolution from council that would ask New Jersey to return to the RGGI. In 2011 Governor Chris Christie announced New Jersey’s withdrawal from the 10-state compact and township council passed an RGGI resolution in August of that year.
“There is great concern over climate change and the many actions we need to deal with it,” Hornsby says. “RGGI is part of that solution.”
Council discussed the RGGI in the September 8 work session but it has not been on a council agenda since.
The environmental commission will next meet Thursday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. Major initiatives include implementing the Sustainable Jersey program for the school district, as well as county wide exploration of organic waste recycling.
“Our new challenge is Sustainable Jersey for schools,” Hornsby says. “This pertains to greening school buildings and integrating sustainability concepts into the curriculum. We have had preliminary discussions with the school board.”
In addition the Mercer County sustainability coalition, which include county staff, Sustainable Jersey, and green teams and environmental committee members from county municipalities, are exploring organic waste recycling. The goal is to create a program to reduce total solid waste by recycling organic waste through methods such as composting and extracting renewable natural gas, according to Hornsby.
In other news, on October 24 the environmental commission was one of six in the state to receive an award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) for establishing the environmental education center at the township’s historical museum at Schenck Farm. The target audience is fourth graders, with plans for curriculum integration and class trips to the center.
