Apollo Alliance : Good Jobs, Clean Energy

Newark's Green Future Summit

A Clinton Global Initiative Energy & Climate Change Program Commitment

Objective

To organize Newark's Green Future Summit in collaboration with the Mayor's office and other city leaders to identify best practices and mobilize the resources to make Newark a national showcase for clean and efficient energy use, green economic development and job creation, and equitable environmental opportunity. We hope that this effort will ultimately engage and touch the lives of all Newark's 300,000 residents, especially those in its most economically and environmentally distressed communities.

Key Partners

The effort will be led by the Apollo Alliance and the Office of the Mayor of Newark with the help of the following partners:

Center for American Progress
Sustainable South Bronx
Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District
Green for All
Christensen Global Strategies
GreenOrder, Inc.

Our Commitment

The Apollo Alliance, the City of Newark, and listed partners commit:

To bring together a diverse group of resource people and community leaders to give time, dollars, expertise and enthusiasm to planning and hosting Newark's Green Future Summit in late Spring 2008;
To develop a roadmap for sustainable development in the City of Newark with ideas emerging from the Summit; and
To expand and support an ongoing national advisory network on sustainable community and economic development to report to the Mayor and support the city in developing green urban initiatives that create jobs, increase community welfare and expand economic opportunity.

The Clinton Global Initiative has provided an incredible opportunity for us to come together to focus our collective resources on helping build a green, prosperous Newark that will be a leader in the clean energy economy. Newark is a city of great assets: her people, her geography, her history, her beauty. At the same time, the city is at a critical moment where it needs to use those assets strategically to build a more equitable, sustainable and economically stable future. The Mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, has inspired many to help him work towards his vision for Newark - and healthy, efficient, equitable communities are a central piece of this vision. The Summit will be designed to help the Mayor and his community partners realize this vision.

This commitment brings together those working on the ground in Newark with policymakers, leaders and experts from other communities who can provide lessons and expertise on best practices around the world, as well as concrete financial resources, to support Newark in its move toward a clean energy future. We commit to working with Mayor Booker and the city's non-profit and for-profit leaders, at the Summit and beyond, to identify new projects and policies, attract new investment and industries, and work toward a greener future for Newark. We will focus on concrete projects to build Newark's green economy, create new jobs and "pathways out of poverty" into these jobs, and capture energy savings that the city can re-invest in new green projects in the future.

Implementation Strategy

The Apollo Alliance, working with all partners, will develop the agenda and identify the participants for the Green Future Summit, to take place in late Spring 2008. The Summit will involve experts and leaders from around the country who have designed and implemented projects and programs that have resulted in positive environmental and economic benefits in other cities or regions. The Summit will produce a "roadmap to Newark's green future," with a specific implementation plan and timetable for realizing Newark's goals.

We will consider the Summit a success if it results in a clear roadmap to Newark's green future that is grounded in the Mayor's vision of that future, and that includes a concrete set of implementation steps. This roadmap will be one measure of success, as will the creation and expansion of the Newark Green Future Network, an expert advisory group on green jobs and sustainable community strategies to provide ongoing support to the Mayor and city government. In addition, our ability to generate interest in and future financing for Newark's green future action plan will be an important measure of success.