Sustainability manager unveils first countywide sustainability assessment; commissioners back next steps

Madeline Woodland, New Hanover County’s sustainability manager, presented the county’s first countywide sustainability assessment, a 120‑day effort that cataloged more than 150 active or recent sustainability initiatives and organized findings across five focus areas: land use and environmental stewardship; community health; governance; operations; and resilience.

Woodland told the board the assessment compares New Hanover to peer counties and notes that while the county leads among coastal jurisdictions with a dedicated sustainability staff, peers are more likely to have formal policies, targets, and advisory boards. She recommended near‑term actions including a county definition of sustainability, improved communications, a public sustainability dashboard, and re‑establishing a resilience working group.

Commissioners responded positively. One commissioner highlighted three practical next steps he wants prioritized: a capital-project sustainability checklist, a public dashboard to track commitments and targets, and reinstatement of the resilience working group. Another commissioner emphasized defining ‘sustainability’ and having the political will to implement it.

Woodland said appendix materials (Appendix A and B) in the assessment contain the full inventory of initiatives and the list of priority recommendations. Commissioners encouraged staff to move aggressively on implementation and to coordinate with local partners, including UNC Wilmington and other regional stakeholders.

The presentation concluded with board direction to staff to review recommended next steps and to return with an implementation approach.