HILLSBOROUGH: Sustainable Hillsborough: A great deal can be done to help protect our community

By Phil Ludvigsen, Special Writer
   On Sept. 26th, the Hillsborough Township Committee voted to accept a resolution to ratify the Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee as the official coordinating body for developing and updating Hillsborough’s Strategic Sustainability Plan.
   Sustainability is a process to identify and implement win-win situations that benefit the economy, environment, and our society without burdening future generations.
   Although this may seem like a lofty goal, it’s actually based on a lot of common sense.
   Hillsborough’s sustainability plan addresses five strategic goals: 1) our local economy; 2) community; 3) environment; 4) mobility, transportation and land use; and 5) energy and carbon footprint.
   Each of these goals will be highlighted in a series of articles published in the Hillsborough Beacon over the coming months, leading up to the first annual Hillsborough Sustainability Fair to be held in May.
   Energy is something we all use, whether it is the fuel to power our cars or the electricity to heat and light our homes, factories, or offices. Sustainable Hillsborough’s vision is to promote energy conservation and a communitywide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through strategies such as energy efficiency in “green” buildings, renewable energy sources, alternative fuels, and low-emissions vehicles.
   Many of these ideas came from members of the public who contributed to well-attended input and feedback meetings. The resulting plan for this goal recommends the use of educational tactics, technical assistance, and policy incentives to assist individuals as well as businesses to reduce their energy needs. Finally, the municipality itself has chosen to be a leader in this effort by addressing the energy usage of its own buildings and vehicle fleet.
   The global warming emissions related to energy production are a growing concern on all levels, from individuals, to municipal leaders to the federal government and internationally.
   Hillsborough Township would like to emerge as a forerunner in the municipal movement to reduce its carbon footprint by addressing energy conservation in residential buildings, commercial buildings, municipal buildings and automobile usage. These measures will all contribute to energy savings, a decreased reliance on foreign energy sources, and an increase in the number of local “green” jobs.
   As a means of encouraging renewable and alternate energy sources, Hillsborough Township adopted a “small wind ordinance” in 2007. This local ordinance allows the use of windmills to generate renewable power in agricultural, mountain, commercial development, and cultural landscape zones.
   Townships can also pass “green” building policies and ordinances that affect new and major renovations of municipal buildings and township facilities. These policies are designed to help implement policies and procedures that typically involve a short to medium payback period such as:
   • Conducting energy audits of municipal buildings and schools.
   • Increasing insulation of buildings and hot water pipes.
   • Installing programmable thermostats.
   • Installing on-demand tankless hot water heaters.
   • Using energy efficient LED lighting fixtures in building as well as lighting community holiday decorations (Christmas tree, Menorah, etc.).
   • Siting new buildings according to passive solar design orientation criteria.
   • Using more natural lighting in building design.
   • Installing light colored roofing materials to reduce summer heating effects.
   Green building projects can be delayed because the learning curve is an initial barrier. To address this challenge, the Sustainability Committee will foster training of key municipal employees, residents, and local contractors in green building. Once municipal staff and building-related committees are trained, green building will be integrated into the mainstream.
   An important aspect of managing sustainability is measuring improvements through the use of key indicators. In the area of green building, the number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings would be an indicator.
   Other priority action items of the Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee include:
   • Create an online database/Web site of green building professionals in the local area as well as available funding resources.
   • Research and evaluate options to install renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal on municipal properties, existing buildings, schools, and future development and planning projects.
   • Investigate establishing a municipal renewable energy power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the local electrical power utility to cost effectively fund the installation of local renewable energy.
   • Sponsor an energy efficiency challenge by awarding energy-efficient light bulbs or other technologies.
   • Begin making simplified estimates of greenhouse gas emissions estimates for Hillsborough such that future reductions can be tracked.
   • Investigate the possibility for local farmers to earn additional revenue from selling “carbon credits” related to implementing “no-till” agriculture.
   As Hillsborough residents and officials become more aware of what can be done to improve energy efficiency and increase our use of renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gases, our township can begin to reduce its carbon footprint.
   To learn more about the future of “green” jobs, energy efficiency, and climate change, plan to attend the first Hillsborough Sustainability Fair 1 p.m. May 3 at the municipal complex.
Phil Ludvigsen is the co-chairman of the Hillsborough Sustainability Committee. For more on the project and the Sustainability committee, visit the Web site www.sustainablehillsborough.org