QUESTION: Whatever happened to the state-funded Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan that took in opinions of thousands of people in an effort to reassess public policy directions?

ANSWER: The Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan, the state’s first long-range plan in 30 years, was completed several years ago by the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs, a think tank.

The institute was paid about $1.3 million for three years of work that included multiple series of public meetings on various islands statewide about the issue of sustainability and more than 10,000 individuals’ “input,” Institute official Jeanne Schultz-Afuvai said.

A portion of the plan has been incorporated in Hawaii law and policies.

She said the 99-page Hawaii 2050 document received suggestions from wide sectors of the community, including Native

Hawaiians, businesses, environmentalists, communities and neighbor islanders.

The Legislature assigned a University of Hawaii program called the Social Sciences Public Policy Center to evaluate and come up with suggestions for incorporating aspects of sustainability plan into law.

The Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan was never adopted in full by the Legislature, and the Hawaii State Plan adopted in 1978 during Gov. George Ariyoshi’s administration remains the planning document for the state.

State Planning Director Jesse Souki said that although the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan was never institutionalized, it reaffirmed the goals and values set forth in the Hawaii State Plan passed in 1978.

“It reminds us and refreshes us,” he said.

Souki said that, as with the Hawaii State Plan, Hawaii 2050 recognized the need to balance various interests including environmental, cultural and economic goals.

Center associate director Sharon Moriwaki said the program recommended that legislators adopt certain public policy guidelines and establish a state sustainability coordinator and sustainability council.

Moriwaki said some guidelines have been adopted but that so far, there is no sustainability coordinator or sustainability council, even though each county has an agency that includes sustainability among its responsibilities. She said “the counties are further ahead than the state” in designating government officials as sustainability coordinators.

She said that in lieu of a state sustainability coordinator, a group called the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative that includes Hawaii leaders from government, business and academia has been working to achieve sustainability goals. These leaders are working to achieve targets for Hawaii by 2030 to increase clean energy and local food production.

Souki said one amendment after the completion of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan was to require the counties, the state and the Legislature to incorporate the concept of sustainability in their decisions.

Souki said the bottom line comes down to funding the implementation of policies.

“I’m not sure we need more policies,” he said. “We need more action.”

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This update was written by Gary T. Kubota. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.