Coming soon: ICLEI’s Sustainability Planning Toolkit, based on the City of New York’s acclaimed PlaNYC.

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, in collaboration with the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, is developing a Sustainability Planning Toolkit to aid local governments that wish to create a sustainability plan. The toolkit will fe ature ICLEI’s new Sustainability Planning Five Milestones, a process drawn from PlaNYC. The toolkit will also include templates, checklists, best practices, case studies, model ordinances, and a database of sustainability initiatives.

What Is PlaNYC?

On Earth Day 2007, the City of New York unveiled one of the most highly acclaimed and comprehensive long-term municipal planning documents – PlaNYC, which sets forth 127 initiatives to reduce New York’s carbon footprint 30 percent by 2030. PlaNYC offers a model for long-term sustainability planning, which many local governments around the country are eager to replicate.

How Will the Toolkit Help Local Governments?

The online toolkit will cover the following topics:

• Ingredients for a high-quality, long-term sustainability plan
• Environmental, economic, and social sustainability principles and strategies
• Step-by-step guide for developing a long-term sustainability plan in communities of varying sizes and needs
• Case studies from City of New York and other leading cities around the country
• Templates and checklists for developing a sustainability plan
• Model ordinances and policies
• Guidance for public participation and outreach
• Climate change mitigation and sustainability strategies
• Incorporating a sustainability plan with a comprehensive plan

In order to ensure that the toolkit will be useful and applicable to local governments of varying sizes and governance structures, the toolkit will be reviewed by representatives from a range of best practice local governments and by a group of pilot local governments. The pilot local governments will have the opportunity to receive training and strategic planning advice on developing a sustainability plan and will be asked to provide detailed input and feedback on the content of the toolkit.

Learn More

If your local government is interested in developing a sustainability plan and becoming a pilot local government for the toolkit, e-mail Jennifer Ewing, ICLEI Project Manager, or call her at (212) 788-1629.