While still looking ahead to where they want Hawai'i to be in 2050, the state's sustainability task force is setting benchmarks to measure progress sooner.

The plan won't be complete until February, but the task force plans to submit a text-draft to the Legislature next week to help lawmakers decide whether to adopt the plan that has taken almost two years and about $1.7 million to develop.

A public unveiling of the draft plan in September yielded about 2,600 responses through meetings, Web comments and surveys, and one thing that stood out was that people want to see results sooner than 2050. "There needs to be more of a sense of urgency," said Sen. Russell Kokubun, chairman of the task force. "Long range vision is good, but we're a results-oriented culture and we want to see the results sooner."

With that in mind, the task force plans to add tangible and incremental goals to its long-term plan, which covers 10 environmental, social and economic priorities. "We need to know whether or not we're making progress," Kokubun said.

The task force also wants to make clear that its recommended sustainability council would be an advisory body, rather than a regulatory one.

Kokubun said he anticipates a lot of questions from his colleagues as he tries to persuade them to approve the plan. "There's a steep learning curve for many of our members," he said.

He expects one hurdle to be funding for the council.

Bill Kaneko, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Institute for Public Affairs, which has been contracted to prepare the report, said that over the past few years, residents have realized that sustainability is an issue that has to be addressed.

"The whole process of trying to see where Hawai'i's preferred future is has really struck a chord in Hawai'i," he said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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