Environment and Energy

Environment and Energy

Fairfax County is a place where all people live in a healthy sustainable environment.

Indicators of Success:

  • Promoting Air, Water and Land Quality
  • Supporting Sound Environmental Policy and Practices

Environment and Energy Dashboard

Data Dashboards are being developed for the ten Community Outcome Areas, each with headline metrics that are visually presented to easily review the data that will continuously inform the Countywide Strategic Plan.

The interactive dashboard below provides an overview of the eight headline metrics for Environment and Energy and enables the reader to access more detailed data and a narrative for context and clarity. Headline metrics for the remaining outcome areas are in progress. Data will be reviewed regularly to assess trends, inequities, and alignment with the strategies included in the plan.

     

Additional Information

Fairfax County is making progress through many of our environmental policies and practices that support air, water and land quality. It is important for people to have the opportunity to enjoy the natural environment, and that residents, businesses, county employees and visitors share in the responsibility to improve environmental outcomes (especially the reduction of greenhouse gasses). By continuing to make a wide variety of improvements, such as increasing the use of alternative energy, green roofs and stream restorations, as well as bike lane and pedestrian options, we will improve the long-term environmental well-being of our county.

The strategies in this section seek to protect, conserve and sustain environmental resources to promote clean air, water and soil. To confront the challenges posed by climate change, the county will improve the resilience of natural resources and community infrastructure, and serve as a catalyst for community-wide action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Fairfax County residences and businesses.

Note: The original draft of the Countywide Strategic Plan was developed concurrent with the 2019 addition of the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, and prior to Board of Supervisors acceptance of the Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) in September of 2021. The Environment and Energy community outcome area was also originally combined with Healthy Communities, but these two areas were separated to ensure adequate focus on each area. Therefore, one of the first steps of the implementation process was to crosswalk the proposed strategies with related countywide plans and make adjustments that ensured integration and alignment of the related work.

These proposed strategies were developed based on the extensive background work completed by the Countywide Strategic Planning Teams.  As previously noted, these strategies will be aligned with related work under the Environmental Committee. 

Promoting Air, Water and Land Quality

  • EE 1. Reduce the county's contribution to greenhouse gases through better coordination of energy and climate best management practices throughout all county agencies, including items such as environmental stewardship and biodiversity of landscaping at county facilities, vehicle selections, building design, utilities and energy consumption.
  • EE 2. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled by incentivizing walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented development patterns, adding more mass transit and on-demand travel options, and discouraging single occupancy automobile use.
  • EE 3. Improve water quality and meet Chesapeake Bay clean water requirements through upgrading stormwater management facilities. Incorporate recreational facilities such as trails into stream restoration projects to better connect residents with the environment.
  • EE 4. Improve the health of county waterways through maintaining effective stormwater controls and regulating development to protect environmentally sensitive areas to lessen adverse community impacts.
  • EE 5. Prioritize stormwater and wastewater infrastructure and capacity reinvestment decisions to support development and redevelopment of more dense communities.
  • EE 6. Reduce waste volumes through maximizing reuse/recycling, enhancing composting, phasing out single use plastics and packaging items and clarifying guidance to the community in the face of evolving practices.


Supporting Sound Environmental Policy and Practices

  • EE 7. Promote county policies, practices and regulatory programs to protect, conserve, establish and rehabilitate natural resources (e.g., tree cover, open green spaces, parkland) that provide ecological and health benefits.
  • EE 8. Promote the use of solar and other green building technology through incentives and resources to encourage homeowners and commercial building owners to maximize energy efficiency.
  • EE 9. Develop a climate action plan to improve community health and resilience, and to prepare for anticipated changes in weather patterns, rainfall intensities, residential and river flooding and tidal impacts. Improve community resilience through better planning, mitigation and response to increasing severity of weather events.
Fairfax Virtual Assistant