PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Gavin Buckley
Public Information Office
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
City of Annapolis Receives Prestigious Sustainable Maryland Certified Award from UMD at Maryland Municipal League Conference
College Park, MD (October 16, 2019) – The Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland announced that the City of Annapolis was one of 17 Maryland municipalities honored at the Sustainable Maryland Awards Ceremony at the Maryland Municipal League’s annual Fall Conference on Tuesday in Cambridge, Maryland.
"On behalf of the residents of the City of Annapolis, we are proud to have again achieved Sustainable Maryland Certified status," said Mayor Gavin Buckley. "I am proud of the work of City staff to make Annapolis more sustainable, and proud of our residents for making the changes necessary to reduce their carbon footprint. We want our City to be a model for clean, green and vibrant communities."
Some highlights of Annapolis’ accomplishments include:
· Annapolis has built a field of solar panels on top of a 80-acre, capped landfill. The solar park contains 55,000 solar panels. The facility is one of the largest solar projects built on a capped landfill in the country, generating enough energy to power 2,500 homes.
· The city received a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in July 2019 to conduct a campaign to reduce plastic pollution in Annapolis. Annapolis Green and the City are teaming up in common cause with Plastic Free Annapolis, in a movement to change habits and reduce pollution at its source for a cleaner, more beautiful Annapolis with participation from businesses, residents and visitors.
According to Mike Hunninghake, Program Manager for Sustainable Maryland, “This year’s seventeen Sustainable Maryland Certified communities, a record number since the program’s inception in 2011, represent a broad and deep commitment to addressing the environmental challenges of our time. We are pleased to recognize the Green Teams, elected officials, and municipal staff that are working hard every day ensure a sustainable future for their communities, our state, and our planet.”
The attached photo shows (from left) Raycine Hodo, Environmental Program Coordinator and Jacqueline Guild, Director of Environmental Policy with the Sustainable Maryland Certified award at the Maryland Municipal League conference.
For detailed information about Annapolis’ sustainability initiatives, please contact Raycine Hodo, Environmental Program Coordinator, at 410-260-2200 ext 7887 or rmhodo@annapolis.gov
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Sustainable Maryland Certification: To achieve certification, municipalities are required to form a Green Team comprised of local residents, community leaders, municipal staff and officials; complete a variety sustainability-related Actions worth a total of at least 150 points (including two mandatory actions and two of six priority actions), and submit the appropriate documentation as evidence that the Sustainable Maryland Certified requirements have been satisfied. The Sustainable Maryland Action Menu can be seen here: http://sustainablemaryland.com/actions-certification/actions/
Contact: Mike Hunninghake, Program Manager, Sustainable Maryland, 301-405-7956, mikeh75@umd.edu
The complete list of 2019 newly certified (denoted by *) and re-certified communities includes:
- City of Annapolis (Anne Arundel County - certified in 2013 and 2016)
- Town of Bladensburg (Prince George's County – first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- City of Bowie (Prince George's County - certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- Town of Brentwood *
- Town of Capitol Heights *
- City of College Park (Prince George's County – first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- Town of Colmar Manor (Prince George's County - first certified in 2016)
- Town of Edmonston (Prince George's County - first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- City of Frederick (Frederick County - first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- City of Gaithersburg (Montgomery County - first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- City of Havre de Grace (Harford County - first certified in 2016)
- City of Hyattsville (Prince George's County - first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- Town of Middletown (Frederick County - first certified in 2016)
- City of New Carrollton *
- Town of Ocean City (Worcester County – first certified in 2016)
- City of Salisbury (Wicomico County - first certified in 2013 and re-certified in 2016)
- Town of Thurmont (Frederick County – first certified in 2016)
Our 2019 Sustainability Champion: This year’s Sustainability Champion is the City of Hyattsville which amassed an impressive 535 points on their application, more than any other community in 2019.
A full report on each certified community’s Actions can be viewed here: http://sustainablemaryland.com/actions-certification/participating-communities/
Sustainable Maryland Certified Municipalities as of 2019 (8th full year of the program):
· Total Municipalities Sustainable Maryland Certified: 38 (24% of Maryland’s municipalities)
· Total Municipalities Sustainable Maryland Registered: 76 (48% of Maryland’s municipalities)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Sustainable Maryland: Sustainable Maryland is an initiative of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland that is designed to support Maryland's 157 municipalities as they look for cost-effective and strategic ways to protect their natural assets and revitalize their communities. Using best practices in resource areas like water, energy, planning, health, food, and economy, a municipality can earn points toward sustainability certification. Sustainable Maryland offers a customizable menu of concrete actions, allowing communities to select initiatives that best fit their specific needs. This free and voluntary program, with the support of the Maryland Municipal League and the US Environmental Protection Agency helps communities choose a direction for their greening efforts; complete their chosen actions with help from program tools, trainings, expert guidance, and other resources; and be recognized statewide for their accomplishments. For more information about Sustainable Maryland: www.sustainablemaryland.com