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:
2021 General Assembly Wrap-Up: Clean Energy & Good Government
Virginia Conservation Network’s Wrap-Up of the 2021 General Assembly's clean energy & good government policy includes legislation to improve building codes for energy efficiency, ensure funding for clean energy, and promote environmental justice.
2021 General Assembly Wrap-Up: Land Conservation & Wildlife
Virginia Conservation Network’s Wrap-Up of the 2021 General Assembly's land conservation policy includes legislation to protect conservation easements, promote wildlife corridors, and protect native plants and pollinators.
2021 General Assembly Wrap-Up: Water Conservation
Virginia Conservation Network’s Wrap-Up of the 2021 General Assembly's water conservation policy includes legislation to tackle polluted stormwater, reduce single-use plastic, and ensuring regulatory oversight of water quality in Virginia.
ROUNDUP: Conservation Community on Clean Car Standards
On Friday, February 19th, the Virginia Senate passed Delegate Bagby's HB1965 and the bill is now on its way to the Governor's desk.
Bill of the Day: Oppose Chemical Conversion (SB1164)
SB1164 will not reduce plastic waste, but instead will reduce state regulatory oversight over harmful, pollution-producing facilities, allowing them free rein to locate near Virginia's most vulnerable populations.
Bill of the Day: Environmental Justice
Two environmental justice bills, HB2074 and SB1318, build on the Virginia Environmental Justice Act of 2020, which declared environmental justice as the policy of the Commonwealth.