Sustainable Southampton Green Advisory Committee

Welcome to Sustainable Southampton, the Town’s sustainability advisory committee webpage! Enjoy exploring our pages of news, knowledge, activities and resources to help our community be a healthy, beautiful and equitable place for all.

Our biggest news is the Town’s adoption of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), a comprehensive update to the Southampton 400+ plan, a blueprint for tackling climate change to preserve and protect our environment. Our subcommittees are currently working on water quality, renewable energy, education and outreach, transportation, composting and waste reduction, to name a few of our priorities.  Many events are being planned and a number of our subcommittees need your input, too. Email us at Sustainability@southamptontownny.gov if you wish to learn more about our committee or want to become involved.

Sustainable Southampton Mission Statement

The Sustainable Southampton Green Advisory Committee was established in 2013 to advise the Town Board on strategies for implementing elements of the Climate Action and 400+ plans to improve the environment and quality of life for our residents, workers, businesses and visitors.

The Sustainable Southampton Green Advisory Committee serves as a resource, catalyst, and advocate for environmentally friendly actions as outlined in the Climate Action Plan. We serve as a bridge between ideas and their practical implementation by advising the Town Council, fostering local partnerships, and engaging our local communities to develop goals, policies and best practices that together improve the well-being of our town and ensure a vibrant and resilient future for all.

Responsibilities

The Sustainable Southampton Green Committee is responsible for:

  • Advising the Town Board on economic and environmentally sustainable practices by formulating guidelines for implementing green methods at town facilities
  • Prioritizing goals, suggesting programs, and recommending policy, legislation, and code amendments that encourage and contribute to sustainability with a concentrated focus on the reduction of the town’s ecological impact / footprint
  • Assisting the Town Board and appointed liaison(s) to develop and institute town-wide environmental and conservation priorities that includes the potential for use of renewable energy resources and green building practices
  • Considering ways to develop green industry and attract green collar jobs for the Town
  • Assisting in the development of programs to advise and educate Southampton Town residents on economically affordable alternatives to reduce energy consumption and costs and further sustainability initiatives
  • Interfacing with other town-appointed boards and committees to foster environmental awareness
  •  Engaging in opportunities to partner with other public and nonprofit entities, where appropriate, to further common goals
  • Developing annual reports to measure progress and time frames for meeting future goals

Check out this Sustainable Southampton Green Map which allows an individual to search within the Town of Southampton for various Green Sites. These sites include, but are not limited to, cell phone drop off locations, LEED projects, local farm stands, recycling centers, organic landscapers, etc. You can view various forms of public transportation and bike routes promoting the reduction of the carbon footprint. Also available in this application are trails, parks, and various points of interest which encourage the enjoyment of our environment.

Some of our Accomplishments:

  • Helped to get the State Agency, NYSERDA, to provide low cost, home energy audits & low interest loans to purchase items such as solar panels & fund the replacement of gas stoves with electric induction units 
  • Supported Town Board policy to buy energy-efficient government vehicles
  • Created the plan to ban the use of plastic grocery bags 
  • Supported the ban of gasoline operated leaf blowers to be replaced with battery operated, quieter blowers 
  • Supported the idling-reduction policy 

What we are Working on Now:

Seeking NYS grants & other forms of financing for projects to address pollution & climate issues, including grants available through Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energy Communities

  • Recommending measures to protect the Town’s water, in partnership with local organizations, scientists and community members 
  • Implementing a composting food scraps program started at the recycling center
  • Planning & hosting informative events about committee projects for Town residents 
  • Adopting Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) to increase the percentage of renewable energy sources of electricity 
  • Encouraging the adoption of a “skip the stuff” policy so that local food establishments would be required to provide napkins, take out containers and utensils only when requested. 

Our Committee Members

  • Kimberly Allan
  • Lynn Arthur
  • John Barrows
  • Glorian Berk, Co-Chair
  • Tip Brolin
  • Julie Burmeister
  • Victoria Elenowitz
  • Gary Goldstein
  • Susanne Jansson
  • Joseph Lamport
  • Evan Mason
  • Dorothy Reilly
  • Helen Roussel
  • Laurie Siegel
  • Shavonne Smith
  • David Ulrich
  • Dieter von Lehsten, Co-Chair 
  • Jesse Warren 

ex-officio

  • Councilman Bill Pell, Town Board liaison
  • Councilperson Thomas Neely, Town Board liaison
  • Tom Houghton, Municipal Works/Sustainability Department 
  • Janice Scherer, Town Planning/Development Administrator