Background

The V-REMS partnership was originally sponsored by the Department of Defense and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in 2003 as a pilot program to develop an EMS-based regional approach to environmental and community challenges.  At the time the White House and DoD were working together to identify opportunities to take the successful EMS framework outside of facilities’ fencelines to incorporate the priorities of surrounding communities.

Selecting the DSCR as a Pilot Site for the “REMS” Approach
The Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR) was identified as an ideal candidate for developing a community-oriented EMS partnership because at the time it was experiencing challenges in communicating its environmental priorities to neighboring communities.  The V-REMS partnership began by bringing together four of the DSCR’s key stakeholders: the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  By working together, these partners established trusting relationships with each other, shared environmental information, and collaborated on joint initiatives.  Gradually from 2003 to today, the partnership added public and private sector partners interested in participating in the regional collaboration.  Today, there are over fifty V-REMS partners. 

Financial Support for V-REMS
The V-REMS Partnership’s success has led to continuing support by the Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR).  The DSCR has consistently found value in V-REMS because it enhances the facility’s mission readiness, provides significant benefits to its local community, and promotes sustainability for operations.   

The DSCR’s support for V-REMS allows for an experienced neutral party to facilitate the partnership’s meetings, calls, and workgroups; conduct outreach to new partners; work individually with existing partners as appropriate; support information sharing among the partners; facilitate the partnership’s strategic collaborative initiatives; and help increase awareness about the ‘REMS’ model in other communities that might be interested in replicating V-REMS’ success.  Since 2003, the V-REMS facilitator has been the Global Environment & Technology Foundation.