Prince William County Announces Sustainability Partnership with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Prince William County has once again been accepted as a Sustainability Partner with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP).  

With the Prince William Board of County Supervisors' support, the county earned its place as a sustainability partner. This was achieved through climate action planning, efforts to increase solar access for the community and integration of sustainability measures in county government operations to strive to meet the county's Climate Mitigation and Resiliency Goals. These goals include: 

• Cutting greenhouse gas emissions county-wide by 2030 to 50 percent below 2005 levels  
• Using 100 percent renewable electricity county-wide by 2035  
• Using 100 Percent renewable electricity in county government operations by 2030  
• Becoming carbon neutral for county government operations by 2050  
• Preparing for climate change by becoming a Climate Ready Region and progress towards becoming a Climate Resilient Region by 2030  

The county's inclusion in the program puts it on an exclusive list of large, private and public sector organizations in Virginia committed to going above and beyond to protect and sustain the environment. According to a DEQ statement, being named as a partner in the program shows that the Board made sustainability a part of the county's culture through leadership, innovation and continual improvement.   

"We are thrilled that DEQ recognized our commitment to strive to make Prince William environmentally sustainable," said Office of Sustainability Director Giulia Manno. "The county has been a VEEP Sustainability Partner for over 10 years now. Every year we aim to improve our programs and impact from our fire station vegetable garden installations to our efforts to meet our climate goals."  

Inclusion in the program shows that Prince William County continually meets DEQ's requirements, which demonstrates measurable actions that lead to direct or indirect environmental benefits, including reductions in energy and water usage, waste generation management and other environmental benefits.   

"VEEP Sustainability Partners are organizations that have maintained a commitment to environmental sustainability," DEQ Pollution Prevention Manager Meghann Quinn stated in the release. "Prince William County has demonstrated their efforts. We look forward to their continued dedication to environmental sustainability."  

"We are proud to be accepted as a Sustainability Partner with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Virginia Environmental Excellence Program," said County Executive Chris Shorter. "This partnership demonstrates the county’s ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, and we are dedicated to leading the way in protecting and preserving our environment for future generations."

For more information, visit the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP) website.