After previously announcing that they have adopted the STAR Communities effort, a national sustainability certification program, the City of Reading hosted a Sustainability Working Summit at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Over 50 prominent members of the community and City of Reading employees attended the event which celebrated the sustainability achievements for the City and to evaluate the progress towards the STAR Communities Sustainability verification.
These Community members have been providing documentation for the 526 different indicators that measure the City’s commitment to achieving a healthy environment, a strong economy, and well-being for present and future residents, the criteria for becoming a certified STAR Community. When criteria is met, the Communities receive “star” status, and can rise in star status as additional goals are met.
“We’re making great progress towards being certified as a Three-Star Community,” said Mayor Spencer. “One of our first initiatives when I took office was establishing the Mayor’s Sustainability Committee, with many of you here in this room. We are committed to becoming a sustainable City, and we will work together to towards our ultimate goal of becoming a Five-Star Community in five years, and to become the first nationally certified municipality in Pennsylvania.”
The STAR assessment provides critical baseline data that will inform the City of Reading’s Comprehensive Plan and other strategic initiatives.
The STAR Community Rating System is the nation’s first comprehensive framework and certification program for evaluating local sustainability, providing a roadmap to help evaluate, assess and improve communities’ economic, environmental and social performance measures and become healthier and stronger.
Since sustainability means different things to different people, STAR provides a clear, data-driven approach to assessing communities’ sustainability efforts. The STAR framework helps communities assess their efforts in seven key areas and define sustainability for themselves. This robust framework is necessary for communities to credibly track their progress toward overall sustainability objectives and to allow communities to compare progress with each other.
STAR allows cities and counties to set a clear path for sustainability with helpful tools that measure and track progress towards meaningful results that save money and improve communities.
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