Green Cities California (GCC), a collaborative of 10 of the state’s most environmentally progressive jurisdictions, including Santa Monica, launched its Best Practices Web site Wednesday.

The purpose of this first-of-its-kind Web site is to accelerate the implementation of sound environmental policies in cities and counties around the state and, ultimately, across the U.S. It is a storehouse of cutting-edge environmental policy designed to accelerate policy implementation by helping cities avoid pitfalls and save time.

Local sustainability policies can have a profound and positive impact on environmental protection. For example, California experienced a dramatic drop in littered polystyrene on beaches due to the adoption of polystyrene bans by dozens of coastal jurisdictions in the state.

However, according to GCC Coordinator Carol Misseldine, the development of such legislation is exceedingly time-consuming and many cities, particularly small cities, don’t have the resources to develop local environmental policy.

“Our Best Practices Web site addresses that problem by providing a central repository of information with easily downloadable policy documents and staff reports,” says Misseldine. “Now any jurisdiction can benefit from the hard work completed by other jurisdictions, and simply modify the policy to suit their locale.”

 “This collaborative effort will save communities valuable staff time and money by providing the resources required for change, eliminating the need for individual cities to constantly reinvent the wheel,” said Dean Kubani, director of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment.

The free Web site – created by local governments for local governments – provides everything staff and policymakers need to implement new policies, including the policy document itself, staff reports, background research, legal analysis, and outreach and education materials. Almost 50 Best Practices, organized around the seven categories of the Urban Environmental Accords – Energy, Waste, Urban Design, Urban Nature, Transportation, Environmental Health and Water – can be accessed now at www.greencitiescalifornia.org.