On January 14, 2026, the Virginia General Assembly will begin its regular session, this year held for 60 days. The Piedmont Environmental Council and the Coalition for Smarter Growth are proud to have co-authored six of the 47 briefing papers in Virginia Conservation Network’s Our 2026 Common Agenda Environmental Briefing Book, which represents the policy agenda of more than 170 organizations and dozens of environmental experts across the state. Our Common Agenda is the most comprehensive overview of Virginia’s environmental policy landscape. Leading environmental experts provide the background for Virginia’s existing environmental policies that are in place, why the issue matters, and potential solutions.
PEC and CSG Co-Authored Papers:
- Preventing Harms from Invasive Plants (Chris Miller, President, PEC)
- Addressing Data Center Impacts & Ensuring Transparency (Julie Bolthouse, Director of Land Use, PEC)
- Housing for the Climate (Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, CSG)
- Maximizing Rooftop Solar & Distributed Generation (Ashish Kapoor, Senior Energy & Climate Advisor, PEC)
- Deploying Large-Scale Solar While Protecting Natural Resources (Ashish Kapoor, Senior Energy & Climate Advisor, PEC)
- Leveraging Battery Storage (Ashish Kapoor, Senior Energy & Climate Advisor, PEC)
Our Common Agenda is your roadmap for state-based, pragmatic, policy solutions to address the environmental problems facing Virginia.