Colorado Green Business assistance

Technical assistance

The CGBN offers FREE sustainability assessments and follow-up support to help you improve energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and corporate social responsibility. Our team of Green Business specialists provide high level technical assistance on an ongoing basis. We work with organizations of any size, type, and expertise - no matter where they are in their sustainability journey.

Interested in technical assistance?

Register in GreenBizTracker and fill out our baseline assessment. We will contact you to get started, once you’ve submitted it!

Our technical assistance includes:

On-site opportunity assessments, which provide organizations with a report highlighting opportunities for resource savings, policy improvements, and financial resources to help you achieve your sustainability goals.
On-site performance assessments are designed to support businesses in moving from one level of membership in the program to the next – for example from bronze to silver

Questions? Contact cdphe.greenbusiness@state.co.us

Looking for information on rebates?

Small Business Equity Fund

CGBN hosted workshops and trainings

CGBN program overview

GreenBizTracker: navigating the new interface

CGBN GHG inventory workshop

Top ten tips for your CGBN application: June 2022

In addition to offering on-site technical assistance, the CGBN may offer free direct installation of resource efficient devices. At no cost to you, these items provide your business with quick savings. The items we currently offer will contribute to your business’ water conservation initiatives and are described below:

Faucet aerators

Aerators are attached to the end of faucets and provide benefits such as water and energy savings, reduced splashing, and improved water pressure. We replace aerators of 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) with high-efficiency, WaterSense labeled alternatives – which are 20% more water efficient than their average counterparts. We offer:

1.5 gpm on/off kitchen swivel aerators.
1.0 gpm bathroom sink aerators.

Drop-A-Brick

Replacing old 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) toiles with WaterSense labeled alternatives – with a max flush volume of 1.28 gpf, is always the preferred approach for creating long-term water savings. However, this item offers a short-term option to reduce water usage of tank-type toilets.

Drop-A-Brick saves 1.5 liters per flush.

Boss defrost

A portable defrost appliance that circulates cold water in a basin to thaw frozen foods safely. It reuses water that would otherwise go down the drain.

For 5 hours of thawing per day, you could save 22,500 gallons of water per month. These savings account for $301.50 per month and $3,668.25 per year.

While we do provide in person technical assistance, there are a lot of resources we make available virtually, as well!

CGBN How-to Series
Learning about utilities
- Interested in knowing who your provider is? Check out the Energy Office map of service areas!
Resources and Tools

What is pollution prevention?

Pollution prevention (P2) is any strategy that reduces or eliminates waste at the source by preventing it from occurring in the first place. P2 includes reducing the use of energy, water. This reduces the waste that needs to be managed through recycling, reuse, treatment, or disposal.

Pollution prevention includes:

Modifying equipment or technology.
Modifying processes and procedures.
Reformulating or redesigning products and packaging.
Substituting less-toxic or non-toxic raw materials.
Improving housekeeping, maintenance, training and inventory control.

Pollution prevention became a national policy with the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The Act established waste reduction as the waste management method of choice and set up a framework for promoting P2.

Why prevent pollution?

Sustainable pollution prevention strategies can:

Save businesses money by reducing energy, water, and material costs.
Reduce environmental compliance costs.
Improve worker safety.
Reduce risk and liability.
Reduce disposal and treatment costs.
Attract increasingly educated and motivated consumers.
Differentiate your product or service.
Retain skilled workers through corporate values and performance.
Reduce external impacts on public health and the environment.

The CGBN collaborates with local sustainability programs, non-profits, and businesses from across the state. Some of those partners are:

Green Business Engagement Network

https://gbenn.org/

National Pollution Prevention Roundtable

https://www.p2.org/

Partners for a Clean Environment (Boulder PACE)

https://www.pacepartners.com/

303-441-1443

SAGE Sustainable Business Program (Westminster)

https://www.cityofwestminster.us/

303-658-2662

Thrive Today and Tomorrow Creating a Sustainable Longmont

Longmont Sustainable Business Program

https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/community/sustainability/sustainable-business

303-774-3514

Walking Mountains Science Center

https://www.walkingmountains.org/

970-827-9725

Colorado Small Business Assistance Program

https://cdphe.colorado.gov/small-business-assistance-program

Colorado Energy Office

https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/

EPA Pollution Prevention

https://www.epa.gov/p2

Efficiency Works

https://efficiencyworks.org/

Brewers Association

https://www.brewersassociation.org/

EnergySMART

https://www.energysmartcolorado.com/

Colorado State University

https://www.colostate.edu/

EcoAction Partners

https://www.ecoactionpartners.org/

City of Fort Collins Climate Wise

https://www.fcgov.com/climatewise/

Xcel Energy

https://co.my.xcelenergy.com/s/

Interested in starting a local Green Business program in your area?

The quality of support a local program can provide is leaps and bounds above what we can do, working to serve all businesses across the state. We strive to make starting a local green business program as simple as possible by providing all the resources a new program might need including:

Policies and procedures.
Criteria, data management support, and recognition.
Training for new business specialists.

If you or an organization you know in your community might be interested in starting a local green business program as a member of the Colorado Green Business network, reach out to us and let us know! Contact cdphe.greenbusiness@state.co.us to get started.

Contact

With questions and interest in technical assistance, contact CDPHE.greenbusiness@state.co.us