From the Director: A Community Commitment to Sustainability

April 1, 2022 | By Telly Tucker

It’s no secret that Arlington is an innovative and forward-thinking community. Our business community is technologically advanced and thrives in some of the most highly sought-after industries, but one of the ways in which Arlington is leading the way — one that ultimately benefits us all — is in sustainability.

Arlington is the first community in the nation to be certified LEED Platinum and is a nationally recognized leader in creating a sustainable and resilient urban environment. Our residents, businesses and government work collectively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change and promote energy efficiency — with an eye towards the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and encourage citizens, businesses and government agencies to be “green” in all they do.

For our business development, we’ve adopted a voluntary green building program that offers site plan developers bonus density in exchange for (at least) LEED Gold certification, additional energy requirements and other environmental components in an effort to encourage developers to build high-performance green buildings to reduce environmental impacts. This program uses the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® green building rating system as a standard to measure the comprehensive green approach of each project.

And it’s a philosophy that is Countywide, not just for our businesses. Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services is always looking at new and innovative methods of recycling. The Arlington Solar and Electric Vehicle Charger Co-op offers opportunities for those interested in using solar power. Our transportation initiatives look at cleaner and accessible public transit; in fact, more than half of Arlington commuters travel to work via transit, bike or on foot.  Urban agriculture is taking hold to create new, sustainable ways of creating fresh food in our urban community. And Arlington’s Green Home Choice provides free professional project consulting on home energy efficiency, comfort, water efficiency, indoor air quality and other sustainability measures.

In recent years, companies considering relocation put sustainability as one of the leading items on the “must-have” list for its ideal place. Here in Arlington, that commitment to sustainability is already a way of life, and we continue to strengthen that commitment every day.