Hawai'i 2050 will unveil plan
at Sustainability Summit

What the people of Hawaii want for the future of the economy, society, the environment and natural resources and how they want to implement true change to move Hawai'i toward a more sustainable future will be the focus of the Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Summit from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, 2005 Kalia Rd. Honolulu.

The Hawaii Legislature in July overturned a veto by Governor Linda Lingle of House Bill 1270, which included funding for the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force and the community planning project managed by the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs.

Hawai‘i 2050 "is one of the most comprehensive planning processes in more than three decades – since the Hawaii State Plan," said William Kaneko, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Institute for Public Affairs, which has partnered with the task force on the project.  

Summit attendees will receive a copy of the draft Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Plan, the result of 18 months of gathering and analyzing the ideas, opinions and goals for the future from Hawai‘i communities, organizers say. The registration fee for the summit is $20.50 for adults and $10.25 for youth under 18.  Click here to register.

Keynote speaker is Terry Tamminen, who has been called the architect of many of California's groundbreaking sustainability policies and practices. He will discuss channeling the will of the community, businesses, environmental groups and politicians to move toward sustainability.

“Accountability and the ability to implement action are two ideas the community has demanded in planning for the future,” the 2050 Task Force said. “So as part of the draft Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Plan, we will propose a citizen-driven Sustainability Council designed to achieve outcomes and publicly report on the state's sustainability progress.”