Middletown Earns Bronze Rating In First Round Of Sustainability Work

Already the first in the state to sign on to new sustainability efforts earlier this year, Middletown was among the first group of towns to earn certifications from Sustainable CT last week.

Middletown and 16 other towns earned bronze certifications, while Hartford, Fairfield, Glastonbury, Greenwich and Stamford earned silver, the highest ranking.

Sustainable CT was created last year by Eastern Connecticut State University and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

There are now 64 member towns in Sustainable CT, and 22 of them earned certifications. The certifications last three years, and new applications or applications for upgraded rankings will be reviewed every year.

Bronze recipients include Bristol, West Hartford, South Windsor, Hebron, New Haven, Coventry and New London.

Lynn Stoddard, director of the ECSU Institute for Sustainability, said the 22 certified communities showed a range of work behind energy and environmental programs.

The certification recipients represent a mix of small, medium and large communities, she said.

“The surprising thing was the sheer magnitude of the towns and the actions they’ve completed,” Stoddard said. “We were thrilled to see the number of towns that have done so many things that have made them eligible. We’re excited about the chance to recognize their achievements and share them with other towns.”

The Sustainable CT program encourages work that makes towns better places to live in the future. They can earn points for thriving economic sectors, good public amenities and cultural resources.

Several municipalities looked in detail at their housing stock, and did studies on the owners and occupants to inform better policy in the future for equitable housing opportunities, Stoddard said.

Middletown’s application scored well on brownfield redevelopment, its Complete Streets cycling and pedestrian plan, its economic diversity and recycling and composting plans.

Its application was compiled by Wesleyan University senior Ingrid Eck, a Tucson, Ariz., native majoring in government and environmental studies and French studies.

Wesleyan created a temporary internship position in its sustainability office to handle the application on behalf of the all-volunteer Clean Energy Task Force.

Eck said the program’s simplicity made it easy to focus on its goals.

“The language is in points, which makes for a clear goal to share with the community,” she said. “The work that we were getting done this summer is thorough work because there are so many steps to take to qualify.”

Reports from each community are available on the Sustainable CT website with scores in 10 categories.

“Having that information publicly available will cause municipalities to go in directions that have already been working,” Eck said.

Middletown Energy Coordinator Michael Harris said Tuesday that the work to prepare for the application strengthened the network within the town of departments and individuals working toward common goals.

Departments that wouldn’t usually be thought of as sustainability partners — like the finance office, the public works department, human resources and the health department — are participating in the holistic view of sustainability as a goal beyond energy conservation or recycling.

“It represents a deeper understanding of sustainability,” Harris said.

In Bristol, Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said the Sustainable CT project helped the city work across departments on new projects, including collaboration between city hall and the school district.

“Energy efficiency and maximizing all of our assets to benefit the bottom line is a big priority this year,” Zoppo-Sassu said in a statement. “One of the first items the new City Council did in the new year was accept the Energy Plan and create an ordinance for a permanent Energy Commission.”

Funding for SustainableCT comes primarily from three foundations — Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the Hampshire Foundation and the Common Sense Fund. The program also received a grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, which will be used to provide consulting services for towns in the next year.

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