Hawaiʻi Green Growth Major Achievements

Photograph by Rae Huo, Courtesy of Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture

The HGG 2014 Progress Report is now available. Hawai‘i Green Growth's major achievements on three long-term strategies from 2011 to 2015 include:

Strengthen political support for action on Hawai"i's emerging green (and blue) growth initiatives:

Aloha+ Challenge launched jointly by Hawai'i's six elected Chief Executives (Governor, four Mayors, and Chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs) with shared commitment to achieve six sustainability targets by 2030 - in clean energy, food self-reliance, natural resource management, waste reduction, smart sustainable communities and climate resilience, and green jobs and education.
Passed Aloha+ Challenge Resolution with unanimous support at the Hawai'i State Legislature and strong multi-sector testimony.
Aloha+ Challenge Dashboard launched to track progress on Hawai'i's international commitment to achieve six sustainability targets by 2030. The Dashboard is an online platform designed for decision makers, and currently features the first two Aloha+ Challenge targets - clean energy and solid waste reduction. The dashboard will be completed with indicators for all six targets by 2017.
Assisted State government to establish and recruit first Hawai'i State Sustainability Coordinator, and partnered with State to engage county, state, federal and international leaders in the Aloha+ Challenge.
Green funding mechanisms & legislation supported by diverse, community leaders at the Legislature and in editorials. In 2015, 11 of 16 HGG legislatives priorities made progress and in 2014, 9 of 15 HGG legislative priorities passed or received additional funding.
Aloha+ Challenge Report to Legislature prepared by the State of Hawai'i and over 100 statewide experts with full set of recommendations on Aloha+ Challenge next steps and legislative actions.

Measures Pano

Develop multi-sector partnerships to achieve ambitious Hawai'i green growth targets by 2030:

First multi-sector collaboration formed in 2011, engaging more than 60 public and private sector leaders from 45+ organizations in the energy, food, environment, and related green sectors.
Successfully recruited HGG's first Executive Director and Measures Coordinator in May 2015 to lead the multi-sector partnership and development of the Aloha+ Challenge Dashboard.
Enterprise Honolulu (O'ahu Economic Development Board) becomes HGG's new fiscal sponsor in July 2015. Enterprise Honolulu will significantly strengthen HGG's capacity as its new fiscal sponsor, including increasing engagement with business leaders and supporting the new expanded HGG team.
Designed and facilitated the Statewide Sustainability Measures Start-up Project, a partnership of all four counties, multiple state departments, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the University of Hawai'i System, Hawai'i Green Growth, and private sector members. By the end of 2014, more than 100 sustainability professionals participated in four statewide HGG Measures Team meetings. The objective of this multi-sector HGG Measures Team is to create and launch the Aloha+ Challenge Dashboard, an online platform for decision-makers and the public to track progress and inform action on the six sustainability targets.
Initiated, hosted, and facilitated county Sustainability Briefings on Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i Island to share the new Aloha+ Challenge leadership commitment broadly and highlight local and statewide sustainability action. Each briefing was attended by approximately 100 island and statewide leaders, including legislators, council members, and government, non-profit, business, and community members.
Initiated collaboration with business and environmental leaders to design a roundtable process to develop shared, specific targets and indicators for the smart sustainable communities target, including a special focus on sustainable economic growth.
Facilitated strategic Hawai'i participation in Micronesia Biosecurity Plan to address regional invasive species threats.
Hawaiʻi Bright Spots - outstanding examples of cross-sector partnerships to build a more sustainable future – featured at the Hawai'i Conservation Conference and Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit, county Sustainability Briefings.

ssc pano

Build Hawaiʻi's international "brand" as an island example of integrated green growth:

Hawai'i joined the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), highlighting the Aloha+ Challenge and Hōkūle'a's Worldwide Voyage at the Third UN Conference on Small Island Developing States (UNSIDS 2014).
International recognition of Hawai'i leadership at major international meetings (2012 World Conservation Congress, UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties in 2012 & 2014, Pacific Island Forum 2014 and UNSIDS 2014).
Hawai'i commitments to the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership welcomed by the U.S. State Department, United Nations and Pacific island leaders (2013).
Established partnership relationship with U.S. State Department, with Hawai'i representatives included on the U.S. delegation to the 2014 Pacific Island Forum and UNSIDS Conference.
Joined government, non-profit, and private sector leaders in shaping and promoting the Promise to Pae'āina o Hawai'i – a set of 20 commitments to improve Hawai'i's marine environments by 2017, when the Hōkūle'a and Hikianalia return from the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
Strategically engaged international island partners and developed messages to strengthen Hawai'i's bid to host the 2016 World Conservation Congress.
Hawai'i hosted the Honorable Ronald Jumeau, Seychelles Ambassador for Climate Change and Small Island Developing State Issues at a Washington Place Reception attended by 130+ sustainability leaders from Hawai'i, the US & the Asia Pacific region.
APEC 2011 & HI Green Growth Briefing with U.S. Ambassador Kurt Tong advanced discussions with the U.S. State Department for a special role for Hawai'i as a U.S. example of green growth.
Hawai'i Green Economy analyzed in the first report on Economic Trends in Hawai'i Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resource Management, prepared by the University of Hawai'i's Economic Research Organization (UHERO), 2012.

HGG activities for FY13 - FY15 were fully funded by HGG members, advisors and partners.

Partnership Values & Approach

Image courtesy of John De Mello

The partnership honors a collaborative and integrated approach to achieve environmental, social and economic prosperity for future generations. Hawaiian culture and values are the bedrock Hawai‘i Green Growth and the Aloha+ Challenge, supporting a trust-based framework to promote holistic system-level change across Hawai‘i.

HGG is a forum where people come together to share their experience, learn from one another and cultivate opportunities for common ground that advance green growth in Hawai‘i. HGG members work together valuing respect; collaboration; action-oriented priorities; honor of both the outcome and process; and cross-sector support for joint priorities.

We are committed to working across sectors and silos to achieve environmental, social and economic priorities to build a more sustainable future. We believe the greatest opportunities and solutions are in the spaces between public sector and the private sector; between communities, industries and technologies; between the individual and the collective.

Partnership Strategy

Key Strategies

Strengthen political support for action on sustainable development at local, national and international levels.
Develop multi-sector partnerships to catalyze public-private sector action on Hawai‘i’s 2030 sustainability goals.
Build Hawai‘i’s brand as an island model for integrated green growth ready to learn and share with others around the world.

2018-2020 Priorities

Advance public-private policy priorities that create shared value and catalyze at least two major cross-sector initiatives that help achieve Hawai‘i’s 2030 goals.
Engage communities and students on the Aloha+ Challenge through the online open-data Dashboard to empower and accelerate statewide action.
Build pathways to cultivate next generation local and global leadership on sustainability solutions grounded in systems-thinking and traditional knowledge.
Increase Hawai‘i’s resilience to climate change and natural disasters to meet the Paris Agreement, and develop an innovative and holistic resiliency model in the Ala Wai Watershed.

About Us

Vision and Mission

Hawai‘i Green Growth (HGG) is a public-private partnership and statewide network that helps catalyze action across government, private sector and civil society to achieve Hawai‘i’s sustainability goals, and serve as a model for integrated green growth. Together, we are building a more resilient and sustainable future for Hawai‘i, island earth and our keiki.

Inspired by Mālama Hawai‘i and the Global Island Partnership, Hawai‘i Green Growth was established in advance of the 2011 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to identify green growth policy priorities for Hawai‘i. HGG public-private partners worked together to launch the Aloha+ Challenge; the HGG network develops shared metrics and joint policy priorities, and identifies concrete actions to help steward Hawai‘i’s statewide sustainability commitment.

Our Work

HGG seeks to develop innovative and collaborative solutions to pressing sustainability, resilience, and development challenges facing Hawai‘i and the world. The first multi-sector collaboration of its kind, HGG built a diverse public-private network of over 100 partners, launched a high-level statewide sustainability framework with six time-bound goals, built a data-based accountability mechanism, and developed a robust process to facilitate shared action on policy outcomes, cross-sector initiatives and innovative finance. The HGG partnership serves as the backbone organization for the Aloha+ Challenge, and coordinates a broad stakeholder base of both high-level institutional leadership and community partners to accelerate statewide action on Hawai‘i’s 2030 goals.

HGG takes a collaborative approach to achieve environmental, social and economic prosperity for future generations. Hawai‘i’s history of systems thinking and traditional knowledge are the bedrock of the partnership, providing a trust-based framework to promote system-level change across Hawai‘i. HGG members commit to work together valuing respect; collaboration; action-oriented priorities; honor of both the outcome and process; and cross-sector support for joint priorities. Serving as a forum to find common ground and advance shared priorities, the partnership coordinates across diverse stakeholders to:

Integrate cross-sector sustainability priorities into long-term policy and planning.
Catalyze public-private actions to advance Hawai‘i’s 2030 goals.
Support and amplify partner priorities through a shared statewide framework.
Build capacity for community action and next generation leadership.
Provide a platform for knowledge exchange, partnership building, and collaboration through an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

Global Context

As one of the planet’s most isolated populations, the urgent need for action on climate change and a green growth strategy is exemplified more than ever. Like many islands and regions around the world, Hawai‘i is facing extreme biodiversity loss, invasive species threats, pressure on freshwater resources, dependence on energy and food imports, and is increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, which could have devastating long-term economic impacts. Against the backdrop of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Hawai‘i’s unique approach to sustainability has global relevance. The Aloha+ Challenge is recognized as a place-based model that can be scaled to support locally appropriate implementation of the 2030 global agenda.