The Hawai`i Green Growth Initiative (HGG) brings Hawai`i leaders from energy, food, and the environment together to achieve Hawaii’s sustainability goals and model integrated green growth. The HGG Measures Project will jointly develop practical, public sustainability indicators and form a statewide public-private sustainability partnership committed to shared targets, action and accountability. It will leverage Kaua`i County’s model and strengthen indicator projects in at least two sectors.

Please describe your innovation?

Kauai’s community indicators program will serve as a model, with a 3-year track record, strong political leadership and effective public-private implementing partnership. HGG will facilitate peer learning and action on sustainability measures across the Counties, key state agencies and partner organizations. It will engage active statewide indicator projects to strengthen the HI model in key areas (clean energy, watershed protection, etc). The group will also learn from successful local, US (MD) and international models. HGG adapts key strategies from successful Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) commitments to conservation and sustainable livelihoods around the world. These commitments achieve large-scale impact by supporting leaders and islands ready to take action on priority issues and facilitating collaboration among islands, which inspires and catalyzes comparable action by their peers. Strong partnerships and high-level recognition ensure continuity when leadership changes.

What is the problem or situation that your innovation seeks to address?

Hawaii’s people depend on imports for 95% of their energy and approximately 90% of their food, at an estimated annual cost of more than $8 billion. Hawaii’s water supply, natural capital and cultural heritage are also at risk. These factors weaken our local economy and disproportionately affect the less advantaged members of our community. Shared metrics are essential to effective collaboration and public accountability. Statewide, there is strong support for greater sustainability, including the Hawai`i 2050 Sustainability Plan, New Day Hawai`i, Hawai`i Clean Energy Act, Rain Follows the Forest watershed initiative, Hawai`i Green Jobs Initiative, and staffed sustainability plans in all four counties. Many of these initiatives include targets, but there is no mechanism to track progress and catalyze action on shared goals or to report clearly to the public. Hawai`i has the opportunity to partner and learn with others taking leadership on these issues.

What effort have you made to test out your new idea?

HGG was launched in 2011 after consultation with 50+ key leaders representing sectors and networks essential to sustainability. After one year, active HGG members report direct benefits and readiness to pursue more substantial shared work, including measures. Sustainability indicators, similar to Maryland’s StateStat, was a top recommendation to HI from the Governor’s Institute on Community Development workshop organized by the State Office of Planning and the Governor’s Office in 2011. The 3-year results in the 2010 report Measuring What Matters for Kaua`i demonstrates the impact of an effective multi-sector alliance using well-chosen measures to drive desired change. Kaua`i continues to develop their model to include new plans and indicators. The 5-year achievements of the Micronesia Challenge (a regional commitment under GLISPA) demonstrate how this can be amplified and sustained when five jurisdictions have shared goals, a functional network and staffed coordination.

What is particularly noteworthy or novel about your innovation?

HGG is the first time that leaders from energy, food and environment came together to collaborate across sectors on their interdependent goals. It formed last year with four shared 2030 targets: • 70% clean energy • double local food production • reverse the trend of natural resource loss mauka to makai • increase local green jobs and education to implement targets By developing shared and public measures, this project will help accelerate progress on these targets across HI. Early indicators will use existing data, including work by previous Innovation Grants. It also links HI to the GLISPA network of islands and international partners. Benefits of this network include new strategic relationships, increased resources, greater recognition and more lasting results. Islands and the green economy, including sustainability measures, are priority agenda items at major international meetings in the next year. GLISPA and the US State Department are discussing an international role for HI.

What impact do you expect your innovation will have on the problem or situation described in the previous question?

What gets measured gets done. In one year, the HGG Measures Project will: • Jointly develop a first credible set of practical, public sustainability indicators for HI. • Help form a statewide public-private sustainability partnership of State & County agencies and partners that promotes joint planning and indicators, accelerates progress on shared targets and increases accountability. • Agree on a process for improving the indicators, including priorities identified from emerging global sustainability indicators used by others, e.g. Global Footprint Network. • Increase Hawaii’s engagement and learning with other islands taking leadership on sustainability. Impact or outcome measurement is one of the greatest challenges for all organizations, and especially for non-profits. These practical early statewide metrics will “roll up and down”, so they can guide sustainability work at all levels. The project will also identify key gaps for strengthening indicators and action over time.

What other community partners will you need if your innovation is to scale beyond your organization?

This project is led by five core partners – HGG, UH Public Policy Center, HI State Office of Planning (OP), HI Energy Policy Forum (HEPF) and Kaua`i County. The partners will engage the county Sustainability Coordinators, forming the core HGG Measures Team. We expect the DLNR and the HI Conservation Alliance will join this Team to share their pilot watershed indicators. Other sectors ready to work on relevant measures this year will be included. The Team will identify and invite key government agencies and partners with expertise or involvement with statewide sustainability measures to form a dynamic statewide sustainability network. The HGG Communications Team will be expanded to help actively share progress and outputs effectively. This statewide network will be structured to welcome new partners and sectors as they are ready to engage. GLISPA will connect the Team with the Micronesia Challenge and other international partners to learn and to share HI’s experience.

Why are your organization, partners, and key personnel suited to take on this project?

GLISPA helped launch HGG in 2011 to help advance and learn from HI’s sustainability work. Since 2006, GLISPA has helped 30+ countries launch or strengthen major island commitments to conservation and sustainability, including regional “challenges” across Micronesia, the Caribbean and the Western Indian Ocean. Audrey Newman, GLISPA Senior Advisor and Dr. Sharon Moriwaki, HEPF Co-Chair and Associate Director, UH Public Policy Center will oversee the HGG Measures Project. The first statewide Sustainability Coordinator will be hired to implement the project based in the State Office of Planning (OP), filling a critical capacity need. Audrey has 25+ years of experience building effective partnerships and networks in HI and globally, including GLISPA, the Conservation Coaches Network and the early HI Conservation Alliance. Sharon is a key partner with the counties and OP on sustainability policy; leads a new grant on clean energy measures for HEPF; and works in community development.