Many view the word “sus­tain­abil­ity” as being syn­ony­mous with the term “green.”  Sus­tain­abil­ity actu­ally encom­passes much more than envi­ron­men­tal con­cerns.  Cre­at­ing a sus­tain­able region for our­selves and future gen­er­a­tions will require a com­pre­hen­sive approach that addresses envi­ron­men­tal, eco­nomic and social needs. 

Sus­tain­abil­ity plan­ning in Howard County involves a vari­ety of depart­ments such as, Plan­ning and Zon­ing, Pub­lic Works, Recre­ation and Parks and Eco­nomic Devel­op­ment.  To help coor­di­nate sus­tain­abil­ity efforts across depart­ments, Howard County Exec­u­tive Ken Ulman and the County Coun­cil cre­ated the Office of Envi­ron­men­tal Sus­tain­abil­ity in 2008, mak­ing it the first Office of Envi­ron­men­tal Sus­tain­abil­ity in the State.

The Howard County Office of Envi­ron­men­tal Sus­tain­abil­ity aims to pro­tect and enhance nat­ural resources and the qual­ity of life in our com­mu­nity through the con­ser­va­tion, preser­va­tion, and restora­tion of our land, air, and water, guided by the prin­ci­ples of sci­ence, inge­nu­ity, sus­tain­abil­ity, and stewardship.

Please visit the Office of Envi­ron­men­tal Sustainability’s web­site for more infor­ma­tion on projects and accomplishments.