Program Objectives:

The County’s General Plan is governed by the overarching theme of Kauaʻi Kākou: We’re moving forward together to collectively plan for a more sustainable Kauaʻi, in the spirit of malama ‘āina (stewardship of the land). The General Plan is the first plan to adopt sustainability as an overarching goal by, “growing responsibly to meet the needs of current and future generations without depleting resources.” With this guiding vision, the objectives of the County’s Sustainability Program are: 1) to have county government lead by example by developing, adopting, and implementing sustainable practices and policies, and 2) to support and leverage community efforts that promote island sustainability.

Programs:

• Youth Engagement and Green Workforce: Collaborate and partner with educators to provide work-based learning opportunities for students to learn about climate solutions and the various careers within green workforce.
  • Youth Climate Practitioners(PDF, 12MB) :  A pilot course in partnership with Hawaii Technology Academy offered in Fall 2021. Check out the summary to see the site visits and student activities during the semester.

     

• Climate Adaptation Planning: The Office of Economic Development is part of the County's Resiliency Team which is comprised of representatives from the Kaua'i County Planning Department, Kaua'i Emergency Management Agency, the Mayor's Office, and the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program. The Resiliency Team, led by the Planning Department along with consultant Raimi + Associates, is currently developing the Kaua'i Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP) to ensure our communities continue to thrive as the climate changes. For more information and ways to get involved, please visit https://kauaiadaptation.com.  
  • Youth Climate Summit: OED led the County’s first ever Youth Climate Change Summit to engage young people in the climate action and adaptation decision-making process. Read the summary for more details.

   

• Brownfields Planning: The County has been awarded a Community‐Wide Brownfields Assessment Grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and allows for the evaluation and preparation of a Brownfields Inventory, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), and a Clean Up Plan for a selected brownfield site. For more information, contact the Sustainability Coordinator.  

   

• Play Streets Kauai: The goal of Play Streets Kaua`i is to connect communities through active play by improving community designs for safe, accessible, and equitable access to physical activity. Play Streets, a place-based, low-cost, intervention that involve temporarily closing streets to create safe places and free opportunities for active play. OED is part of the Play Streets team including the Hawaii State Department of Health, the Planning Department, Get Fit Kaua`i, Na Lei Wili Area Health Education Center, and several community organizations. The first pilot event was successfully implemented in partnership with E Ola Mau Na Leo O Kekaha as part of the Kekaha Family Fun Day event on July 2^nd. Visit playstreetskauai.com for more information.

   

• Kaua`i Aloha+ Challenge: Join the challenge and take on simple, everyday actions to reduce your carbon footprint and save money. This fun online platform offers a list of sustainable actions that can be done on the household level such as biking more, switching to LEDs, recycling, buying local, and so much more. You can easily filter actions by difficulty, impact, savings and upfront cost, and time required. Sign up as one person or create a team!  

Resources

• Climate Adaptation Plan
• 2050 Hawaii Sustainability Plan
• Aloha + Challenge: The Aloha+ Challenge: He Nohona ‘Ae’oia is a statewide commitment to build a healthier and more sustainable future for our islands. The challenge is a locally driven framework to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Kaua`i Aloha+ Challenge: Our island’s local response to meet the State’s goals and allows our community to take action today
• Kaua`i County Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2005 and 2015(PDF, 446KB): Inventory of greenhouse gases from 2005 and 2015 from direct emissions on Kauai County due to energy use, waste, agriculture, forestry, and other uses.