Miami-Dade County's GreenPrint planning process is modeled on ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability's five key milestones. It involves assessing the sustainability issues and existing initiatives in the County, defining the scope and goals of the plan, developing the specific strategies in the plan, and then releasing the plan.

Following the release of GreenPrint, the County will begin implementing the initiatives in the plan and monitoring its progress by using a set of sustainability indicators.

GreenPrint's goal is to provide a framework for action to make County government operations more "green," and to improve the overall sustainability of the County. GreenPrint will include a set of overarching sustainability goals along with specific initiatives or measures that the County can take to achieve those goals.

A central component of the plan will be the indicators and targets associated with each initiative: It is the aim of this plan to inspire action in the County and to hold the County accountable for its actions by defining a means for measuring progress.

The planning process and GreenPrint will adhere to the following guiding principles:

• The County will lead by example
• The concept of sustainability will guide County policy and decision-making
• Metrics and targets will be used to define goals and measure progress
• The County will collaborate with local municipalities to create a sustainability movement among all jurisdictions in the County
• Partnerships between jurisdictions and between the public and private sector are necessary to achieve sustainability goals
• Transparency and accountability will guide the County's sustainability actions
• Initiatives in the plan will be designed to be aggressive but achievable
• The County will ensure the benefits of sustainability policies are equitably distributed to county residents.

The plan will reflect community demographics and the economy and include the following key sustainability components addressing both County operations and the community as a whole.