A public-private partnership that coordinates across
government private sector, and civil society to achieve
Hawai‘i’s 2030 statewide sustainability goals and
serve as a model for integrated green growth.

Smart Sustainable Communities

5-Smart Sustainable Communities
Photo Courtesy of UH SeaGrant

Hawai'i Green Growth set ambitious targets in the areas of clean energy, local food, natural resource management, waste reduction, smart sustainable communities and green workforce to build a more secure, sustainable and resilient economy for Hawai'i by 2030.

HGG 2030 Target: Smart Sustainable Communities
Increase livability and resilience in the built environment through planning and implementation at the state and county levels

2030 Target Background
This initial target was agreed by HGG members to capture the critical importance of climate resilience and smart growth/infrastructure to Hawai'i's future. HGG is assisting the Office of Planning, Department of Health, Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, the Counties and UH SeaGrant College Program, to further specify this target and identify measureable sub-targets.

Leadership in Smart Sustainable Communities
The State of Hawai'i joined the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership and made a commitment to climate resilience with all the Pacific region island leaders, the USA, European Union, and United Kingdom in September 2013.

President Obama appointed Governor Abercrombie to the U.S. Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience in November 2013. The State of Hawai'i is now part of the national discussion on addressing the impacts of climate change and hopes to leverage this opportunity to establish a climate council and adopt a statewide climate adaption plan.

Stakeholders that brought climate resilience and smart growth to the forefront in Hawai'i and are guiding HGG's work are the Hawai'i State Sustainability Coordinator, Office of Planning, Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, Department of Health, UH Law School and UH SeaGrant College Program.

Measuring Progress

To ensure the State of Hawai'i is reaching its Smart Sustainable Communities target and commitments to climate resilience, stakeholders are developing indicators to track Hawai'i's progress.

  • A major priority for the Office of Planning's Hawai'i Ocean Resources Management Plan Working Group is climate change adaptation. The statewide plan sets ocean and coastal resource management priorities, provides a method for performance measures and reporting, and informs statewide climate adaptation planning. It was recently updated in 2013.
  • The University of Hawaiʻi SeaGrant College Program is also working to identify indicators to measure progress on the Smart Sustainable Communities target.

HGG's Sustainability Measures Start-Up Project is working with these partners, the Counties and others statewide to agree on a credible set of practical, public statewide sustainability indicators to inform decision-makers and the public on progress on our six sustainability targets.

 

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