Sustainable
development in New Jersey:
Where have we been; where do we need to go?
By Matt Polsky
Presented on December 14, 2004*
Sustainable
development has been described as the key concept of
the 21st century; a topic that has gained serious interest
in international circles, and as a guide for a growing
number of sectors. It is relevant for the development
of public policy, the expectations increasingly made
upon business, and for guiding personal behavior. This
concept simultaneously alerts us to the seriousness of
problems we might prefer to ignore; tells us that solving
them means delving into unfamiliar fields, as the world's
problems are interrelated; and gives us a set of creative
tools with which to approach their solutions.
New
Jersey State Government in the mid-1990s took some early
steps in developing an approach to sustainable development.
It: (a) set up a pioneering unit to help companies with
environmentally cleaner products than the standard compete
in the marketplace; (b) was developing an initiative
to negotiate a degree of regulatory relief for, and recognition
of, businesses in return for achieving levels of performance
beyond legal requirements; (c) along with two state universities,
set up the Sustainable State Institute (SSI) to update
a report card on the state's performance on several measures
of sustainability; and others. While state policy and
practice were not always consistent with sustainability,
it was a start and New Jersey was a recognized leader.
Now, all of this is gone, but it can be regained.
The
political leaders who followed this era almost never
mentioned sustainability. With the exception of the Board
of Public Utilities, no state agency was interested in
working with the Institute. While some state initiatives
arguably were very or partially consistent with a sustainability
perspective (e.g. the BPU's renewable energy goals, smart
growth), recent Administrations have never seen the value
of explicitly using it as a guiding approach. Quite unnecessarily,
and with little notice or comment, a lot of momentum
was lost.
They
were not the only ones to deemphasize sustainability.
The environmental community, for the most part, rarely
brings it up. The press almost entirely ignores it. Politicians
don't seem to know it exists. Major figures from the
sustainability field would occasionally visit the state
to give talks, and while they excited the audiences with
new ideas with the potential for creating breakthroughs
in approaching problems, such as green design and corporate
goals for zero pollution, there were very few stories
in the press, and their ideas did not get absorbed by
those who could utilize them.
With
some exceptions, our business sector is falling behind
state of the art thought and practice in the social responsibility
area, like doing business in developing countries in
innovative ways that improve the quality of life, human
rights, and the environment. Meanwhile, states like Georgia
and New York are just getting into the sustainability
area, and deciding to focus on business. In New Jersey,
the field of corporate social responsibility, and how
it's evolving, doesn't come up.
New
Jersey has never had an entity that could let us know
that: our solutions were not sufficiently integrating
environmental, economic, and social considerations; in
key areas, we could not keep going the way we were going
and that our society is in denial, such as in our nonsustainable
use of oil; we were missing opportunities to move forward;
and certain international trends and events, to which
we seemed oblivious, should not be ignored.
If
we wish to ignore international problems thinking we're
safe from melting glaciers, declining fish yields, the
indirect effects of again-increasing levels of global
hunger; and commitments like the Millennium Development
Goals, one of which is to reduce by half the proportion
of people without access to safe drinking water, we do
so at our peril - to say nothing of the ethical obligation.
We can't assume the federal government will adequately
respond. If a wealthy, sometimes creative state can do
our part, and lead others by example, why shouldn't we?
There
is some hope. Some state organizations in the education
and religious communities have continued their progress
in developing sustainability-oriented programs. There
are a few academics familiar with leading edge ideas.
The number of green architects has grown and the common
sense topic of green buildings is no longer at the fringes.
The most recent progress is at the local level, where
Montclair and Highland Park are using sustainable development
as a guiding principle in orienting their policies and
practices. A growing number of other towns are watching
them and putting their toes in the water. The Department
of Environmental Protection has a new sustainable communities
initiative to help them.
Today
is the biggest opportunity of them all. The SSI is starting
up again. It will release the third report card on the
state's progress, or lack of it, fulfilling a critical
need if we're ever going to approach sustainability.
There will be speakers and hopefully some discussion
of the above, too. Perhaps, the leadership to fill and
refill the above vacant niches will begin to emerge.
And perhaps Acting Governor Codey, the Legislature, funders,
and others will see the necessity and opportunity to
build on the renewal of the SSI to accelerate the state's
sustainability path and reclaim its leadership.
*
A statement for attendees at the "Living With the Future
in Mind III: Goals and Indicators for New Jersey's
Quality of Life" Report Release and Symposium, December
14, 2004, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy,
New Brunswick, New Jersey.
________________________________________________________________
Matt Polsky
Matt is is a sustainability catalyst,
formerly in state government in New Jersey, who now works
with many other organizations.
Contact Info:
Matt Polsky
innovator3@hotmail.com ph: 908-276-6881