For 2018, Boulder County is offering a 70 percent reimbursement for RTD EcoPasses or MyRide cards to businesses in Lafayette who participate in the Lafayette Green Business program.
Whether for EcoPasses or MyRide cards, Lafayette businesses are eligible for two years of funding:
Reminder, businesses are encouraged to sign up for the program now to get maximum value from the program as EcoPass contracts run on a calendar year basis and the pilot program funds are limited.
This pilot program was inspired by winning submission for last year’s “No Fare Lafayette” transit promotion contest, submitted by Lafayette’s own Elise Rooney of Rockton Software.
Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) will continue to provide rebates in 2018 to help your business improve its energy efficiency and generate renewable energy!
Boulder County has allocated $140,000 to fund energy efficiency rebates for businesses throughout Boulder County. The City of Boulder has provided $600,000 from its Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax for additional rebates in Boulder, as well as incentives to offset the costs of energy audits required by the City’s Building Performance Ordinance.
Rebate Limits per Parcel:
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- $2,000 annually outside city of Boulder
- $20,000 annually in city of Boulder
- $5,000 lifetime for HVAC equipment
- $15,000 annually for renewable energy (does not count toward parcel caps listed above)
Additional Rebate Limits:
- Rebates will be limited such that the simple payback period for any project, with all rebates and incentives deducted from total project costs, is not less than two years.
- The total of all rebates and incentives cannot exceed 50% of total project costs.
Rebate Reservations: A signed contract will be required to reserve rebates over $5,000. A contractor bid signed by the business indicating intent to proceed will be required to reserve rebates between $1,000 and $5,000.
The list of eligible measures and rebate amounts have stayed the same for 2018. EnergySmart is still offering rebates of $1 per watt for all electric-generating renewable energy measures up to a maximum rebate amount of $15,000. In addition to rebates for lighting, HVAC and renewable energy projects, PACE also offers rebates for building envelope, compressors, motors, fans, pumps, and office and food service equipment.
Small Disadvantaged Businesses
PACE is taking steps to further integrate social justice into its programs and services. We will be conducting focused outreach to Small Disadvantaged Businesses and earmarking a portion of our rebate funds for those businesses.
Pre-approval is required before installation, and these rebate funds always go quickly, so don’t miss your chance to join the over 1,300 businesses that have received PACE rebates. Contact a PACE advisor to reserve your rebate today at 303.786.7223 or info@pacepartners.com!
Visit PACEpartners.com for program terms and conditions and to learn how PACE advisors can help your business reach its sustainability goals.
So Cool – Upgraded Refrigeration Requirements
Don’t let your cooling equipment fall behind the times
https://news.trakref.com/new-epa-refrigerant-regulations
Your refrigerator and air conditioner are like magic: They move heat out of a cold place and into a warm place – the opposite of what would happen without the magic properties of the refrigerant that runs through their tiny pipes. The only problem is that those magic refrigerants also have properties that aren’t so good for human or environmental health. For this reason, the EPA has periodically updated its requirements for refrigerant management, and the latest have a compliance date of Jan 1, 2018:
- Refrigerant disposal recordkeeping
- Refrigerant handling license requirements
- Evacuation level requirements
- New leak rate, reporting and inspection requirements
- HFC refrigerant sale certification requirements
- HFC sale/distribution recordkeeping
If you have refrigeration or are responsible for air conditioning equipment, these requirements may affect you. Here is a handy summary of the new requirements, and the full set of EPA fact sheets. A sheet dedicated to Supermarkets and Property and Facility Managers is available here.
Keep it Clean – We’re all Downstream!
Do you maintain or plow parking lots and parking garages? Did you know that accumulated snow from plowing can be full of pollutants, sediments, oils, trash and debris? These “stormwater pollutants” can flow into storm drains and may eventually reach creeks and waterways. Use these best management practices to prevent pollutants from snow melt from reaching drains or creeks:
- Store excess, plowed snow on a pervious (non-paved or landscaped) area where melt water can infiltrate into the ground.
- Sweep or clean parking lots, parking garages, stormwater inlets, catch basins, culverts, concrete drainage pans, or other drainage structures in the fall and the spring, and after major snowstorms.
- Clean up any fluid spills or leaks using dry clean-up methods (absorbents and sweeping).
- Ensure that drains located within parking garages discharge to the sanitary sewer, not to the storm drain system.
- Use salt and/or deicers sparingly. If truck-applying salts and deicers, use the lowest application rate that will be effective and ensure that the application equipment is calibrated.
- Never plow or blow snow, salt, sand, deicers, or other debris directly into creeks, rivers, or ponds.
This dirt and debris will run right into the storm drain!
‘Tis the Season for Sharing (Your Ride!)
How CarSharing Works
CarSharing is a more convenient type of car rental that can be used as little as 15 minutes, a few hours, or multiple days. Users can book vehicles anytime through the reservation system and access them on their own with their membership card. The vehicles are picked up and returned to the same location and users only pay for the time and distance they used the vehicle.
eGo CarShare is Colorado’s first and only non-profit carsharing organization operating in Boulder County and Denver. A business eGo CarShare membership replaces the need of managing an in-house fleet or reimbursing employees for parking, mileage and gas. Extremely affordable and convenient, your business can also say goodbye to the rising costs of gas, insurance, maintenance and a parking spot.
Membership allows access to cars 24 hours a day to our fleet of 50+ fuel efficient and specialty vehicles, for as little as 15 minutes at a time. Just make a booking online, use your personal key fob to unlock the car and return it to the same location when you’re done.
Our fleet of strategically placed vehicles around town, near bus stops and close to B-Cycle stations will allow your employees and member businesses to maximize their transportation options while saving money, mitigating traffic and supporting a cleaner environment. On a yearly basis, each carshare vehicle in service:
- Replaces approximately 15 personally owned vehicles
- Reduces an estimated 150,000 vehicle miles travelled (VMT)
- Averts over 8,000 gallons of gas from being used
- Prevents over 73 tons of greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere
- Helps our members drive an average of 44% less and save around $6,500 in car expenses
Multiply these figures by 50, and ask the 2,900+ members who rely on eGo on a daily basis, and you can see the impact our entire fleet is having in the community each year! Learn more about our business and non-profit memberships and rates at http://carshare.org/business-nonprofit-rates/ or email peter@carshare.org.
ZipCar
Zipcar is the world leader in providing ‘wheels when you want them’ — a revolutionary mobility service that gives members on demand access to a variety of cars in cities, campuses and airports, by the hour or day. Zipcar helps consumers, businesses and governments save money and hassle, while helping make cities better places to live through smart and efficient transportation. Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAR), a leading global provider of vehicle rental services.
What is zipcar?
- Zipcar provides over 950,000 members on-demand access to more than 12,000 vehicles in urban areas on college campuses and at airports across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, France, Germany and Turkey.
- Zipcar operates in over 30 major metro markets, at over 500 college campuses, and on over 50 airports
- Zipcar fills a vital need for many types of people including those that rely on public transportation, who seek the convenience and flexibility that the bus and train can’t always provide, as well as car lovers who seek the freedom and joy of driving, but want to avoid the cost and hassle of owning a car in the city
- Zipcar offers members a fleet of vehicles with over 50 different makes and models, including: hybrids, SUVs, pickup trucks, luxury vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans
- The Zipcar mobile app for iPhone and Android makes finding and reserving Zipcars easy and quick. You can even honk the horn to locate your car and unlock the doors through your mobile device
- Membership costs $70/year or $7/month and hourly rates start at just $8.25/ hour with our Occasional Driving Plan making Zipcar a cost-effective alternative to car ownership. Zipcar also offers discounted weekday driving rates for Zipcar4Business customers and membership to students 18+ on select campuses
- Zipcar takes care of gas, insurance, maintenance, and a dedicated parking spot. All reservations include 180 miles of driving per day
Top zipcar facts
- Zipcar members have reported using Zipcars for everything from everyday errands and moving to a new place, to weddings and trips home from the hospital with a new baby
- A Zipcar is reserved somewhere in the world every six seconds
- A Zipcar commissioned survey showed that Millennials reported that the high costs of maintenance, parking, and gas make it difficult for them to own a car
- 50 percent of Millennials surveyed by Zipcar say they would drive less if other transportation options, like public transit and car sharing, were available in their area, with 35 percent reporting that they are actively seeking substitutions for driving
- Members of Zipcar and car sharing programs report a 46% increase in public transit trips, a 10% increase in bicycling trips and a 26% increase in walking trips
- A Transportation Research Board/National Academy of Sciences study finds each shared car takes about 15 private cars off the road
- Frost & Sullivan estimates that car sharing can reduce the total transit costs for its members by 70%
- Zipcar Impact: Zipcar members report saving an average of $600 per month compared to owning a car
Local Governments and Businesses: WE ARE STILL IN
Amid this summer’s highs and lows, local government and business leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement in light of the federal government’s promised withdrawal. Some have independent resolutions, while others have declared their commitment through We Are Still In, an open letter to the international community and parties to the Paris Agreement from U.S. state, local, and business leaders that support action on climate change.
Business leaders are stepping forward. At least 25 companies in Boulder alone (including many Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) Partners) have signed on to the letter, which is still open for signing at wearestillin.com.
In 2017, the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners issued a written resolution, a new presentation with some fascinating data about economic costs that Boulder County faces due to climate change impacts will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners on April 10, 2018.
The City Of Boulder reaffirmed its climate commitments through Climate Mayors, a network working towards binding commitments to greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The City of Boulder also signed on to We Are Still In. The City of Longmont, which adopted its Sustainability Plan in November, also appears on We Are Still In, as does the Town of Lyons, whose Environmental Sustainability Action Plan was already in the works before the 2013 flooding that devastated that community and deeply affected Boulder County. The City of Louisville’s City Council advanced its commitment to a healthy and sustainable community by voting in July of 2017 to adopt Resolution 34-2017 in support of the Paris Climate Agreement. The City of Lafayette passed a Climate Bill of Rights ordinance in March of 2017. The Town of Nederland is a signatory to the 2007-06 U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.
Grease is Gross! (And Illegal)
Restaurant owners…do you have a grease bin out back? Do you know if it’s leaking or full? A leaking bin or spilled grease is considered an “illegal discharge” since the grease can be carried to a storm drain and eventually to a creek or river during the next rain storm. Any materials spilled onto parking lots, alleys, or streets can run off into the water supply. Your local municipality has a stormwater ordinance and could issue you a violation and a fine for illegal discharges.
These photos show poorly maintained grease storage bins and illegal spills on the pavement right here in Boulder County.
Efficiency and Mobility For All
You already know about PACE’s services for businesses, but did you know that Boulder County also offers residential energy efficiency and sustainable transportation programs for residents?
PACE has partnered with residential EnergySmart and Boulder County Transportation Department’s Mobility for All Program to put together a 15-minute presentation on how your employees can save money on home energy and transportation costs while improving sustainability. Like our recycling and compost trainings, we can present at your regularly scheduled staff meetings which can lead to:
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- Cost savings on utilities and improved housing and transportation affordability
- Increased commitment to sustainability
- Greater job satisfaction
Would you like to schedule a presentation or would you like to learn more about it? Please contact PACE advisors at 303-786-PACE for more information.
City of Boulder Ordinances? We’ll Help You Comply
If you’re in the city of Boulder, PACE is your resource for meeting new sustainability requirements. Our team will get you set up to comply with whichever ordinance affects you:
- The Universal Zero Waste Ordinance applies to all Boulder property managers and businesses.
A PACE advisor can help you set up the service, bins, and signs that you’ll need and will train your staff on how to divert waste from the landfill to get to Zero Waste…or darn near.
- The Boulder Building Performance Ordinance applies to large industrial campuses and existing buildings that are 50,000 square feet (sf) or larger, as well as new buildings that are 10,000 sf or larger. A PACE advisor can help you get familiar with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, the initial requirement for energy tracking. ENERGY STAR-certified buildings are exempted from the ordinance. Your advisor can help you determine if you’re close to the Portfolio Manager benchmark score that is required for exemption, help you complete the upgrades that can get you there, and help you get certified. Compliance is not a heavy lift with PACE assistance; all of the more than 120 businesses affected by the Building Performance Ordinance in 2017 achieved compliance!
- The Boulder Marijuana Facility Energy Requirements ensure that one of our fastest-growing and most energy-intensive industries is green in every sense.
A PACE advisor can help you to understand your options under the renewable energy offset requirements and get your business set up. Contact your PACE advisor now, call our hotline at 303-786-7223, or visit info@PACEpartners.com.
Take the Best for Colorado Challenge
Is your business among the Best in Colorado? Complete the free online Quick Impact Assessment, to see where your business excels and where you could improve to strengthen your bottom line and improve your company’s impact on Colorado’s workers, communities, and the environment. Show your employees, customers, and community that your business is competing to be the Best for Colorado, and receive recognition as part of the statewide Best for Colorado campaign.
Why Should Your Businesses Participate?
Best for Colorado inspires and equips local businesses with the tools to measure and improve business practices that strengthen their bottom line and improve quality of life in their communities. Over 100 businesses have already completed the challenge during this inaugural year of Best for Colorado.
- Strengthen Your Bottom Line: Companies that use business as a force for good are identifying untapped assets and opportunities for growth. They’re also winning the loyalty of their customers, investors, and employees.
- Promote Your Business: Earn your badge and share how your business is competing to be the Best for Colorado with your employees, customers, and community.
- Access Unique Services: Access unique tools, services, and resources from multiple business support organizations that can help you to strengthen your bottom line and improve your business practices.
- Join a Growing Network of Businesses That Measure and Improve Impact: Best for Colorado is led by 80 B Corps (i.e. businesses that are certified for their triple-bottom line impacts). These businesses are looking forward to helping others improve their impact. Take the assessment today!
New PACE Certification for Transportation
A PACE certification showcases to your customers and peers that your business has achieved a high level of environmental performance. Certified PACE Partners are eligible for various forms of community recognition. Let us help you share your sustainability success stories!
To achieve sustainable business certification in the following areas, businesses must demonstrate:
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- Transportation – More commuters take sustainable modes of transportation to work than the PACE Transporation Icon Largeaverage for the city/town.
- Energy – EnergyStar Portfolio Manager score of 75 or better.
- Waste – Diversion of at least 70 percent of waste away from the landfill.
- Water – Water savings of 15 percent better than use predicted by code.
Getting There
Here are some steps you can take to achieve success:
- Designate an employee transportation coordinator.
- Join a transportation management organization.
- Regularly communicate about transportation options.
- Provide a pre-tax transit/vanpool subsidy.
- Provide subsidized vanpool, carpool, carshare, bikeshare, or taxi (including Lyft and Uber) benefits.
- Offer financial incentives for employees not driving alone to work.
- Create employee commuting award or recognition programs.
- Install an electric vehicle charging station.
- Provide secure bike parking.
Contact your PACE advisor today at info@PACEpartners.com or 303-786-7223 to determine your eligibility for certification and to receive advice on how to improve your performance.
Your Business Can Benefit From Carshare
How CarSharing Works
CarSharing is a more convenient type of car rental that can be used as little as 15 minutes, to a few hours, or for multiple days. Users can reserve vehicles any time through the reservation system and access them on their own with their membership card. The vehicles are picked up and returned to the same location, and users only pay for the time and distance they used the vehicle.
Benefits of CarSharing for Businesses
- Cuts costs on the purchase and maintenance of vehicles. Gas, insurance, and maintenance are all included.
- Advanced scheduling software allows fewer vehicles to serve a larger number of employees.
- No upfront costs: converts vehicle ownership from a fixed cost to a variable cost.
- Automatic employee mileage tracking and reporting.
- Low administrative overhead; simplified mileage reimbursement process.
- Encourages employees to take sustainable commute transportation options by offering a vehicle to use when needed during the workday.
- Discounts may be available for usage during business hours.
CarShares in Boulder County
eGo Carshare
eGo CarShare started in 2001 as Colorado’s first nonprofit carshare organization, as well as one of the first in the nation. Their mission is to empower people to live a car-lite lifestyle and have a positive impact on the environment, their community, their health. They provide access to a network of 50+ energy-efficient vehicles throughout Boulder and Denver, providing members with improved mobility, cost savings, and environmental benefits.
As a local nonprofit carshare organization, we eGo Carshare is specifically focused on supporting the local community. In addition to more mainstream markets, they also serve underserved areas, and therefore the entire community. In doing so, they have cars throughout the city, providing needed transportation where people both live AND work. This means Boulder County residents and employees have a real, viable alternative to car ownership or can feasibly downsize the number of households cars. The better performing locations (e.g. downtown cars) enable them to place cars in other areas, such as low-income neighborhoods. Having a network of locations which serve the entire Boulder County community translates into more impactful and equitable mobility options for everyone.
They actively work to keep their margins, and therefore their rates, as low as possible so that they are affordable for businesses, students, residents, and employees of all income levels. Additionally, as a local non-profit, money stays and is reinvested in the local community through other mission-driven activity, such as education and outreach, local employment, and internships for local university students and others in the community.
ZipCar
Zipcar gives members on-demand access to a variety of cars in cities, campuses, and airports, by the hour or day. Zipcar helps consumers, businesses, and governments save money and hassle while helping to make cities better places to live through smart and efficient transportation. Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAR), a leading global provider of vehicle rental services.
- Zipcar provides over 950,000 members on-demand access to more than 12,000 vehicles in urban areas on college campuses and at airports across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, France, Germany, and Turkey.
- Zipcar operates in over 30 major metro markets, at over 500 college campuses, and at over 50 airports.
- Zipcar fills a vital need for many types of people, including those who rely on public transportation, who seek the convenience and flexibility that the bus and train can’t always provide, as well as car lovers who seek the freedom and joy of driving but want to avoid the cost and hassle of owning a car in the city.
- Zipcar offers members a fleet of vehicles with over 50 different makes and models, including hybrids, SUVs, pickup trucks, luxury vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans.
- The Zipcar mobile app for iPhone and Android makes finding and reserving Zipcars easy and quick. You can even honk the horn to locate your car and unlock the doors through your mobile device.
- Membership costs $70/year or $7/month and hourly rates start at just $8.25/ hour with our Occasional Driving Plan, making Zipcar a cost-effective alternative to car ownership. Zipcar also offers discounted weekday driving rates for Zipcar4Business customers and membership to students 18+ on select campuses.
- Zipcar takes care of gas, insurance, maintenance, and a dedicated parking spot. All reservations include 180 miles of driving per day.
Does your business want to attract new customers? Offer more amenities to your employees?
In support of healthy and sustainable lifestyles, businesses can now get free bike racks and assistance with siting the racks on their property. If you are an interested business owner, please call 303-786-7223 or email info@PACEpartners.com.
Contact PACE today if you’re thinking about installing an electric vehicle charging station at your workplace in 2017. PACE advisors are available to provide more information, assist with charging station grant applications, help you navigate installing your station. Call a PACE business sustainability advisor at 303-786-7223 to learn more.
