Carbon-Free Fairfax is Fairfax County's signature public education and outreach initiative to encourage voluntary climate action within the community. The program has several major goals and objectives for its first 24 months. Progress against these goals and objectives will be reported here as quantitative figures become available.

GOALS 

The goals of the initial Carbon-Free Fairfax public education and outreach campaigns are:

1. To raise public awareness of the need for greenhouse gas mitigation on a local level in Fairfax County.

2. To inform the public of the goals of the Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP).

3. To educate members of the public, business stakeholders, and other organizational leaders and entities throughout the county on several ways they can begin to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, including:

• Making energy-saving improvements to residential and commercial buildings.
• Having an energy audit of their residential or commercial building done by a qualified professional.
• Exploring the possibility of installing solar photovoltaic arrays and battery storage on site at their residential or commercial building.
• Considering all of the options for getting from point A to point B within Fairfax County and the surrounding region and choosing to take public transit or a non-motorized alternative mode of transportation (walking, biking) whenever practical.
• Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise driving an electric vehicle rather than a vehicle powered by fossil fuels. In the case of institutional audiences, installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure to facilitate the use EVs by residents, clients, or visitors, as applicable.
• Understanding the power of the programmable thermostat and of making smart use of efficient HVAC systems. Making wise choices when establishing thermostat set points in both the summer and the winter and embracing passive heating and cooling to reduce HVAC use overall.
• Using all-electric appliances and household or commercial systems such as heat pumps for HVAC and electric hot water heaters, rather than gas-powered systems. In certain cases, using a combination of gas-powered and electric systems.

4. To engage community members in conversation around barriers to entry, access issues, and personal or professional hesitancy to take action on the above-mentioned approaches to greenhouse gas reduction.

5. To meet county residents, businesses, organizations and other stakeholders wherever they are in their journey toward climate action. To spur community members toward changes, large and small, that will support the greenhouse gas reduction goals laid out in CECAP.

6. To provide high-quality engagement opportunities for a variety of audience sectors including but not limited to youth/students, young adults, established professionals, retirees, young families, new county residents, renters, homeowners, business owners, and employees.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the initial Carbon-Free Fairfax public education and outreach campaigns are:

1. To quantifiably reach 100,000 Fairfax County residents with Carbon-Free Fairfax related messaging, materials, and opportunities between January 2022 and December 2023.

2. To offer at least a dozen web-based interactive educational opportunities, like webinars, between January 2022 and December 2023.

3. To offer at least a dozen in-person education or engagement opportunities (dependent on COVID-19 public health restrictions) between January 2022 and December 2023.

4. To establish one or more new initiatives to enhance the ability of county residents and businesses to take specific actions such as having an energy audit done or purchasing an electric vehicle.

5. To increase access to Carbon-Free Fairfax information, educational pieces, and engagement opportunities by offering materials in multiple languages and employing interpretation or multilingual services for in-person events.