Just published!  Read the first Annual Report published by the MCSC, 2016, a Year of Momentum for the Member Communities of the Mercer County Sustainability Coalition.

This first annual review of the activities of Mercer County’s communities and sustainability organizations provides insights into our strengths as a County.  It features an overview of the sustainability accomplishments of the 12 communities in our county, plus those of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and the County government.  It also presents a summary of the focus of action, based on Sustainable Jersey action categories for our communities.

The Mercer County communities that completed the requirements for Sustainable Jersey certification completed 279 separate actions in all 18 of the possible Major Action Categories as of this writing.¹  According to our analysis,  a number of action areas were prioritized and were the focus of much of the activity in many of the towns. Those action areas include: Natural Resources, Waste Management, Community Partnership and Outreach, and Innovation and Demonstration projects.

There was also a clear winner of all of the Sustainable Jersey action categories. Actions that serve to protect our natural resources numbered at fifty-six of the 279 actions. Work ranged from completing a Natural Resource Inventory to actions protecting our tree canopies and water conservation.

As you will read, participation in the Sustainable Jersey program is exceptionally strong in our County with all of the towns enrolled.  Of those municipalities, most have either BRONZE or SILVER level certification with the remaining towns actively working on their first certification.   Our County is indeed a focal point of Sustainable Jersey activity.

1 This data has been collected from the certification reports available on the Sustainable Jersey website. See our 2016 MCSC Master Action Tracking Spreadsheet for specific actions completed by each town.