Updated July 22, 2024. First published Sept. 5, 2023.
WSSI is proud to have earned Sustainability Partner status with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP) for two years running. We participated in the 2023 inaugural year, and were named as a Sustainability Partner again for 2024.
The VEEP Sustainability Partners track is designed to encourage organizations in both private and public sectors across Virginia to make environmental sustainability part of their culture through leadership, innovation, and continual improvement. Organizations must demonstrate this commitment through measurable and verifiable conservation efforts, leading to direct and indirect improvements in energy usage, water usage, waste generation, and other environmental benefits.
WSSI is honored to be recognized for our commitment to conducting business in an environmentally sustainable manner. For decades, WSSI has taken steps towards environmental responsibility and leadership. One of our best ongoing initiatives is our LEED Gold headquarters office and grounds, where we continuously seek and implement measures to improve our stewardship of the environment. Since opening in 2005 as the first LEED Gold office building in Virginia, we have invited the public, including all age groups, to tour our facility and learn from our efforts and experiences. Our office has served for nearly 20 years as both a classroom and a laboratory. We also use a variety of low impact development (LID) stormwater management techniques on the site to mimic hydrologic function of a forest; our fully integrated LID design relies on detention, retention, and evapotranspiration best management practices to reduce stormwater volumes and flow rates to levels that exceed requirements. Furthermore, we chose our Richmond office building because we value and appreciate the owners’ sustainability and resiliency efforts that earned the former electric railway car barn building a LEED Platinum award, Net Zero verification, and listing in the National Register of Historic Places, an unprecedented accomplishment in the U.S.
Leadership is a WSSI hallmark: we established the first private wetland bank and also the first dedicated stream bank in Virginia. We’re proud to be able to continue the tradition in partnership with our clients and the community. Beyond our office spaces, WSSI is working with our clients to create more sustainable and resilient built environments, from transportation infrastructure to biodiversity initiatives for energy and data management companies. We provide educational outreach as we lead visitors through our headquarters building and grounds; we serve as a demonstration ground for innovations such as pervious asphalt and improved media for trees in urban plantings; and we volunteer in our communities through trash pickups, STEM education with local students, and habitat improvement projects.
WSSI’s HQ office has been honored with other sustainability awards, including:
- Wildlife Habitat Council: Green Infrastructure Project Award for the native plant habitat at our headquarters office (2023 and 2021)
- Wildlife Habitat Council: Silver Certification for our headquarters office
- EcoVadis: Silver Medal for Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
- Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary certification for WSSI’s headquarters office
Check out our headquarters building and our projects to learn more!
