Nine Leading Cities and Counties Selected to Help Design Revolutionary Sustainability Performance Management Online Platform for STAR

Washington, D.C. [December 21, 2010] - The STAR Community Index ™ (STAR), a groundbreaking sustainability rating system and performance management tool, today marked a major step forward with the selection of nine cities and counties that will play a primary role in defining how STAR will help local governments measure and improve their sustainability performance. STAR will transform and accelerate the local sustainability movement by offering cities and counties a roadmap for advancing climate protection, economic recovery and equal opportunities for all residents within a community.

The following nine cities and counties were selected as STAR “Beta Communities”:

• Atlanta, GA
• Boulder, CO
• Chattanooga, TN
• Cranberry Township, PA
• Des Moines, IA
• King County, WA
• New York, NY
• St. Louis, M
• Washington, DC
  

These Beta Communities will collaborate with ICLEI to design cutting-edge performance management software that will allow cities and counties to more effectively manage their sustainability efforts, gather and evaluate data, and report progress toward sustainability goals and measures. Together, ICLEI and the Beta Communities will road test STAR, to ensure that it can be adopted by local governments around the country, ranging from small towns to major cities.

“We are delighted to mark such a significant milestone in the life of STAR with the selection of these nine remarkable cities and counties that will provide valuable input and direction toward the development and implementation of STAR,” said Mayor Patrick Hays, North Little Rock, AR, Corporate President and Chair of the Board of Directors, ICLEI USA.

“I am very excited that the City of Des Moines has been selected as a beta community for the STAR Community Index,” said Mayor Frank Cownie, Des Moines, IA. “By being selected as a beta community, Des Moines will have the chance to use this tool to better communicate our green initiatives with our citizens. Des Moines has been consistent in pushing forward to become a resilient, sustainable, green community; STAR will take us to the next level.”

"The City of Atlanta is honored to be chosen as a part of the Star Beta Communities Program," Mayor Kasim Reed said. "As we make strides toward becoming a top 10 city for sustainability, measuring our progress and achievements is just as important as reaching our end goal. Having the expertise of ICLEI-USA is invaluable and we are proud to be among such great peer cities."

“We are honored to be selected and look forward to piloting this innovative efficiency program,” said King County, WA, Executive Dow Constantine. “The Pacific Northwest and King County have a lot to gain by protecting the climate, and I am happy we are going to be using all available tools to measure how we make a difference.”

“These nine early-adopter cities, along with many other communities across the nation, are already taking the lead on energy efficiency and sustainable development in their own right and as such, they are the perfect candidates to advance the goals and mission of STAR, which is to build healthier, inclusive and more livable communities,” said Martin Chávez, Executive Director, ICLEI USA and three-term mayor of Albuquerque, NM. 

The Beta Communities will receive technical support and resources to position them to become early adopters of STAR and accelerate their various sustainability efforts.

The selection of the nine Beta Communities follows the recent release of the STAR Sustainability Goals and Guiding Principles to assist local governments and communities with a much-needed vocabulary to more effectively strategize and focus their sustainability planning efforts. The 81 goals and 10 guiding principles released collectively define community-scale sustainability and serve as the foundation of STAR.

The STAR Community Index is being developed by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), National League of Cities (NLC), and Center for American Progress (CAP), and in collaboration with over 150 sustainability experts and organizations from a diverse group of cities and counties, federal agencies, national associations, non-profit organizations and private entities.

How the STAR Online Platform Will Work

The STAR online platform will provide users with a variety of features to enable quick uptake of the STAR Community Index. The platform will include features to enable local governments to analyze, map, and manage all their sustainability data in one place, and to present that information to internal managers, executives, and the public using a sustainability dashboard that interfaces with a city’s or county’s website. The tool will also facilitate data sharing with ICLEI for the verification and certification of a community under the forthcoming STAR rating system. More information on the STAR Beta Communities and STAR online platform can be found at:
http://www.icleiusa.org/star

About the STAR Community Index

STAR will change the way local governments and communities approach sustainability goals – and how they manage and measure their long-term progress. This performance-based sustainability management system breaks ground by uniquely combining the following elements:  a framework for sustainability -- based on the pillars of environment, economy, and social equity; an online data-management platform that gathers, organizes, analyzes, and presents information required to meet community and government sustainability goals through effective management; and a management model and rating system that drive continuous improvement in community health, vitality and prosperity for all residents.  More information on STAR can be found at:  http://www.icleiusa.org/star