By Denise Nelson | The Berkley Group
The 2018 Go Green Virginia Challenge applications open with special significance this year: it’s the 10th anniversary of this home grown program to promote environmental stewardship among local governments.
Early on, VACo partnered with the Virginia Municipal League (VML), which created the program in 2007 to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce emissions and save local governments money. The program includes a variety of best practices that local governments can adopt across their operations to conserve resources and minimize negative impacts to the community. This home grown program was tailored to address issues and opportunities relevant to Virginia’s local governments. The advisory panel includes subject matter experts from public sector professionals, elected officials, planning and design consultants, and industry representatives.
The voluntary program includes questions related to community involvement, energy efficiency, renewable energy, procurement, land use / transportation, environmental stewardship, water stewardship, waste management, employee incentives, and resiliency. The challenge includes 97 questions and opportunities for extra credit. At typically 5 points per question, there’s a total of 565 points available. Counties addressing enough questions to earn 100 points are recognized as a “Green Government.” Counties can view the questions and enter the friendly competition at www.GoGreenVA.org.
Start early!
The deadline for submission is October 5, 2018.
VACo presented the 2017 Go Green Virginia awards to 7 member counties at the 83rd annual conference in Bath County. The video of the Go Green and Supervisors’ Certification Awards is available at https://youtu.be/sDil8OrC62w. “The seven winning counties represent a growing group of localities that believe in taking innovative steps to reduce energy usage and promote sustainability,” VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch said. Congratulations to all of the past Green Government counties (listed below).
Go Green Past Winners
Albemarle County (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Arlington County (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Chesterfield County (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Clarke County (2011)
Culpeper County (2011)
Fairfax County (2009, 2010)
Franklin County (2009)
Frederick County (2011, 2013)
Gloucester County (2010)
Hanover County (2009, 2010, 2011)
Henrico County (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
James City County (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Loudoun County (2009, 2010, 2012)
Louisa County (2015, 2016, 2017)
Prince George County (2016, 2017)
Prince William County (2009, 2012)
Roanoke County (2009, 2010, 2011)
York County (2009, 2013, 2014, 2016)