A Year in Review: VCN’s 2023 Annual Report
Thanks to highly coordinated efforts and despite political headwinds, VCN — in our role as the strategic facilitator of our 150+ Network Partners — was successful in holding onto major environmental and climate policy successes from the last few years while celebrating historic investments in conservation funding through the budget.
Our Annual Report reviews Virginia Conservation Network’s work from Spring 2022 to Winter 2023. While it feels almost impossible to cover everything we worked on last year in only a few pages, we did our best to squeeze in the highlights, including:
- our strategy to advance conservation initiatives year-round,
- our policy gains and challenges through the General Assembly session and beyond,
- our Network Partner engagement events,
- and more.
As we sent this annual report to the printer, we learned of the tragic loss of our Clean Energy & Climate Justice Policy Manager, Shawn Soares, on May 4th, 2023. Shawn was committed to devoting his career to bettering the Commonwealth and was a rising star in the climate movement. We are dedicating this annual report to him and are committed to working in his honor moving forward.
Read more of our recent updates from our blog:
Bill of the Day: Expanding Solar Energy
Installing solar reduces energy burdens and costs for Virginians while making our buildings more energy efficient and clean. It's also critical to hit our 100% clean energy targets outlined in the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
Conservation Policy Updates: Week 5 of General Assembly
See conservation policy updates on Crossover, Expanding Solar Energy, and Transit Infrastructure/Electrification Funding from week 5 of the General Assembly session.
Bill of the Day: Data Centers’ Impact on the Environment
Data centers consume massive amounts of resources, and we don’t fully know just how bad the consequences will be. Support SJ240!
Crossover Update from Virginia’s General Assembly
As of this Tuesday, we have reached “crossover” – the day that bills introduced and passed in one chamber of the General Assembly must “cross over” to be voted on by the other. VCN provides an update on the remaining conservation bills in this short session.
Conservation Policy Updates: Week 4 of General Assembly
See conservation policy updates on Data Centers, Banning Cyanide in Metals Mining, and Curbing Invasive Plants from week 4 of the General Assembly session.
Back in Action for Conservation Lobby Day
For our first Lobby Day back in person since 2020, over 200 conservation advocates joined over 75 meetings held with our state legislators. With guidance from VCN's Bill Tracker, attendees lobbied their state representatives to support strong conservation policies.