Warwick Township recognized as Platinum Certified Sustainable Municipality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    

Warwick Township Recognized as
Platinum Certified Sustainable Municipality

(Warwick Township, Lancaster County, PA – May 8, 2015) Warwick Township announced today it is the first municipality in Pennsylvania to earn Platinum Certification (highest performance level) through the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program.  The municipality completed the program’s rigorous assessment/checklist which tracks 131 policies and practices that define a sustainable community.  In order to achieve Platinum, a municipality must provide justification in the form of web links to supporting publicly available material located on the municipal website for at least 90% of their certification claims.

Warwick Township stands out as a leading Sustainable Community by demonstrating its commitment to the performance program’s certification criteria in areas of both policy and practice. The municipality’s adherence to sustainability in operations, management, and provision of public services is apparent through many actions, a small sampling of which includes a 2009 Sustainability Assessment, a 2012 greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and an Environmental Preferable Purchasing Policy.

The Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification, administered by the Pennsylvania Municipal League in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh, is designed for municipalities that are working to save money, conserve resources, and serve vibrant communities. Originally deployed in Southwestern Pennsylvania by Sustainable Pittsburgh, the certification has gone state-wide recognizing small, medium, and large municipalities across the Commonwealth.  The Pennsylvania Municipal League and Sustainable Pittsburgh applaud municipalities for their demonstrated commitment and sustainability performance. 

In earning the Platinum certification, Warwick Township is acknowledged as a leading example for its progress in excelling to address such areas as community design and land use, energy efficiency, health and wellness, mitigating blight, intergovernmental cooperation, recycling and waste reduction, fiscal controls, and internal management and operations. Details regarding how Warwick Township is addressing these areas can be found on the certification program’s website:  www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org

"Warwick Township is proud to be recognized as the first Platinum Certified Community by the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program," said Logan Myers, Chairperson of the Warwick Township Board of Supervisors.  "Practicing sustainability in our township essentially means that we meet our present needs without compromising our ability to meet our future needs.  Sustainability also balances the relationship between ecological integrity, economic prosperity, and social equity.  Warwick Township has a long history of commitment to saving taxpayer dollars, using resources efficiently, and applying best practices in municipal government and community development.  We feel that it is important to not only make educated decisions at the municipal level, but also continue to enhance our regional approach and focus moving forward." 

Warwick Township’s Community Sustainability Policy can be found on its website, at the following address: http://www.warwicktownship.org/planning/pages/sustainability.

"We are delighted to see Warwick Township distinguished among local governments that are leading the way in applying sustainability to both their operations and management as well as within the community," said Gail Markovitz, Director of Training, Pennsylvania Municipal League. 

The Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification is intended to bring recognition to municipalities that are applying the policy and practice of sustainability as their way of operating in order to advance community prosperity.  It also serves as a mechanism for sharing best practices for creating a more sustainable Pennsylvania.  "Municipalities that earn the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification are standouts in demonstrating adherence to best practices that elevate them as communities of choice to live, work, and play.  Commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of sustainability and the certification program is a means to accelerate municipal performance," said Court Gould, Executive Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh.

Details about Warwick Township’s certification performance can be found by linking to www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org.  For more information, please visit www.sustainablepacommunitycertification.org  or contact Daniel Zimmerman, Warwick Township Manager, at (717) 626-8900 or dzimmerman@warwicktownship.org.

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About Warwick Township
Warwick Township is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with a population of approximately 18,000 and land area of 20.2 square miles.  With a tradition of agriculture, balanced with a mix of residential homes, open space, and a vibrant business/industrial community, our progressive approach has put us in a leading role in many fields including regional planning, economic development, transferrable development rights (TDR) agricultural preservation, and comprehensive watershed management. 

About The Pennsylvania Municipal League
The Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. The PML represents participating Pennsylvania cities, townships, towns, boroughs, and home rule municipalities that all share the League’s municipal policy interests.  PML provides a wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy (on both the state and federal levels), publications designed to educate and inform, education and training certification programs, membership research and inquiries, consulting-based programs, group insurance trusts, and the statewide Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification. 

About Sustainable Pittsburgh
Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh region to integrate economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions for communities and businesses. Over the past 17 years, Sustainable Pittsburgh has proven adept at building coalitions for the policy and practice of sustainable development for southwestern Pennsylvania.  SP educates and engages decision-makers and in turn elevates expectations for integration of the 3Es (environment, social equity, and economy) among government, businesses, nonprofits and academia.