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:
Electric Vehicles in Virginia Fact Sheet
Synapse Energy Economics released a fact sheet evaluating the impact of electric vehicles on Virginia's electricity rates from 2011 to 2021, concluding that EVs lowered rates for both EV-owners and non-EV owners.
Report: Assessing Benefits of Distributed Solar in Virginia
VCU's Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment (ISEE) and Wilder School Center for Public Policy released a report updating a 2020 study on the economic benefits of installing 2,500 MW of distributed solar capacity in Virginia, and whether the state is on track to meet this goal.
Welcome Aboard: Meet Our 2024 Summer Fellows!
The Virginia Conservation Network is happy to announce our 2024 summer fellows in our Environmental Advocacy Fellowship Program.
Get Ready for Our 2024 Annual Meeting & Partner Retreat!
VCN's Annual Meeting & Partner Retreat is a prime opportunity to engage with Virginia's strongest conservation movement outdoors.
Video: Blueprint for a Better Region
Our partners at Coalition for Smarter Growth released a video detailing their Blueprint for a Better Region, a vision for a more sustainable, livable DC region. This video explains how smart growth ties together housing, transportation, land use, sustainability, and equity.
Banning Polystyrene in Restaurants
Katie Register and Zach Huntington from Clean Virginia Waterways provided commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that phasing out polystyrene containers will not economically burden restaurants, as sustainable alternatives are available, affordable, and enhance customer support.