SMC's First Certified Municipality:

Congratulations Berlin!

____

Welcome SMC participants. Please browse our website to become familiar with the various components.  Links at the top of the page will guide you to SMC action items and municipal registration. Good places to start are the Getting Started and Frequently Asked Questions links on the left.

Sustainable Maryland Certified (SMC) is a new initiative of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland (EFC) designed to support Maryland's 157 municipalities as they look for cost-effective and strategic ways to protect their natural assets and revitalize their communities. Using best practices in resource areas like water, energy, planning, health, food, and economy, a municipality can earn points toward sustainability certification.

This free and voluntary program, with the full support of the Maryland Municipal League (MML), helps communities choose a direction for their greening efforts; complete their chosen actions with help from program tools, trainings, case studies, and other resources; and be recognized for their accomplishments. Sustainable Maryland Certified offers a menu of actions, allowing communities to choose activities specific to their needs and plan across community priorities to achieve multiple community benefits.

SMC encourages municipalities to consider the community as a whole.  At the core of SMC is the local government/community partnership.  Thus, we hope that the entire community will work in conjunction with the local government to achieve certification.

______

SMC Announcements

FUNDING FOR MUNICIPALITIES NOW AVAILABLE: New grant opportunities and resources have now been posted! Please visit our Grants and Resources for more information.

ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS: SMC hosts periodic Q&A Conference Calls for all participants. The upcoming call date is Wednesday, May 23, 11:00 am.  Call-in number: 800-503-2899. Passcode: 3461025.

GREEN TEAM RESOURCES: Growing your Green Team:  A Handbook for Sustainable Maryland Communities is now available online. 

2012 SMC DEADLINE APPROACHING: SMC is currently reviewing applications for certification. Applications must be submitted by June 29, 2012 for consideration for the SMC Awards Ceremony being held at the MML Fall Conference. Please contact info@sustainablemaryland.com or 301-405-7956 if you have any questions.