Past Projects & Initiatives
Destination Certification​
​
Teton County, Wyoming achieved sustainable destination certification with EarthCheck, one of the world’s leading destination certification companies accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Our certification addresses all public and private stakeholders that operate within our County’s boundaries. The Jackson Town Council and Teton County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution in April 2017 for Jackson Hole (i.e., Teton County) to be a world-leading sustainable community and destination, and to support initiatives that contribute toward this vision.
​
Destination certification has been a goal of the Jackson Hole & Yellowstone Sustainable Destination Program since its inception in 2014 and a milestone in the progress of community partnerships created to strengthen the sustainability programs, policies, and practices in Jackson Hole. Teton County was evaluated on 266 criteria in 12 key performance areas, including energy efficiency and conservation, ecosystem conservation, waste management, cultural and social management, and economic management. The story of how Teton County achieved EarthCheck certification can be found HERE. Further destination certification efforts will be resumed to continue to strive toward greater levels of sustainability after the completion of the Sustainable Destination Management Plan.
Sustainability Report Card​
​
In addition to the resolution for Jackson Hole to become a world-leading sustainable community and destination, our local government has approved previous sustainability resolutions. These resolutions were for reducing our energy usage and carbon emissions, promoting the use of renewable energy and alternative fuels, and striving toward zero waste. These commitments and private sector initiatives express our community’s aspirations to be environmentally and socially responsible while sustaining the health of our economy.
A significant step toward measuring how well we are moving toward our sustainability aspirations and goals is to create a means for monitoring and tracking our progress. This first annual Jackson Hole Sustainability Report Card was published for this purpose as well as to create an awareness of our sustainability status and be used as a tool for educating community stakeholders and the general public. The next sustainability report card will be published after the completion of the Sustainable Destination Management Plan.