The push for next level certification

— Haley Hines, Town of Stonington

Since 2018, the Board of Selectmen has made it a priority to make Stonington more sustainable. With the Sustainable Stonington initiative, the town has made strides to becoming more resilient, collaborative, and forward-thinking. 

In just two years, Stonington has achieved Bronze certification from SustainableCT, a statewide non-profit initiative spearheaded by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at ECSU and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. This certification came from completing at least one action in all 11 categories, earning 200 or more points, and completing one Equity Toolkit to optimize for equity. With collaboration from town officials, volunteers, and community projects, Stonington is making great progress towards a better future. 

“We have a strong start and need to keep up the great work as we head into the coming years with the four pillars of sustainability in mind: Human, Social, Economic, and Environmental.”

Already there have been initiatives surrounding Pollinator Pathways, community gardens, and protecting our natural resources. We send our municipal employees to training for better education on equity, diversity, and environmentally friendly practices. Even in the midst of a pandemic, we are working hard to help our community be more vibrant, resilient, and equitable for all. Stonington still has much to do to become more sustainable, but we have a strong start and need to keep up the great work as we head into the coming years with the four pillars of sustainability in mind: Human, Social, Economic, and Environmental.

Our next goal is to achieve silver certification. This requires many more sustainable actions and changes to the town, with plans to address preventing homelessness, supporting local businesses, inventorying and protecting our natural, historical, and cultural resources, and promoting equity in our actions. We are collaborating with boards and committees to achieve our goals. In fact, the Public Communications AD HOC Committee is already looking into one of our planned actions; researching and recommending better channels of communication within and outside of municipal organizations. 

We are now looking to our community for support and ideas. What changes do you want to see from our town to make it more sustainable? Just click below to let us know!