University of Virginia
PAE-19: Community Sustainability Partnerships

The Planning and Coordination Council, consisting of representatives from the City of Charlottesville, the County of Albemarle, and the University of Virginia, is a 20+ year formal partnership between the University and its municipal neighbors. In recent years, a number of community sustainability partnerships have emerged under the auspices of PACC, including the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), the Local Climate Action Planning Process (LCAPP), and the Livable Communities Project (which also involves the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission). The Local Climate Action Planning Process (LCAPP), an 18-month process involving a Steering Committee of representatives of the City, County, and UVA, local business representatives and other interested parties, supported by a network of more than 50 subject matter experts, examined best practices to assess their appropriateness and effectiveness for our community. Through this process, a "Five-Part Framework for Our Community Energy Profile" was crafted identifying guidelines to inform planning and programs. Further detailed recommendations were formulated into a set of "Framework Action Strategies", which represent opportunities for win-win efforts that can contribute to community well-being in economic, health and environmental terms. The recommendations of the LCAPP Steering Committee are a guide for the City, County and University of Virginia to utilize in pursuing their own Action Plans to establish the scope and scale at which each entity is committed to engage. The Charlottesville Better Business Challenge has formed a partnership between the Darden School of Business and students in an undergraduate Global Sustainability class with the Local Energy-efficiency Alliance Program (LEAP) among other non-profits to help small local businesses reduce their environmental impact.