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.
