Contact an advisor at:

303-786-7223

info@PACEpartners.com

Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) has worked with more than 2,000 businesses across Boulder County to access rebates, incentives, and financing that help them realize their sustainability goals and make smart investments in their business operations. Rebate amounts and availability vary and pre-approval may be required.

City of Boulder businesses only: comply with new universal zero waste ordinance and the building performance ordinance.

PACE offers information, rebates and incentives to transition to renewable electric opportunities.

PV Solar Rebates are offered at $1 per watt and is capped at $15,000. Rebates for solar do not count toward other parcel caps. As with other Boulder County rebates, funds must be reserved prior to purchase/installation.

Review 12 months of utility bills and determine your highest usage months. If you are on the secondary general rate, determine what changes you can make to try to get below 25kW; this will greatly reduce your utility bill.

The EPA Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator is designed as a simplified calculation tool you estimate and inventory your annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The calculator will determine the direct and indirect emissions from all sources at a company when activity data are entered into the various sections of the workbook for one annual period.

Set your greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals for 2025, 2030, and 2050. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize your time and your resources.

Solicit and conduct an energy efficiency assessment. This is a systematic way of assessing what energy resources are currently being used by your restaurant and evaluating ways to reduce energy consumption and costs. Typically, energy assessments identify numerous simple, no-cost/low-cost recommendations to reduce energy use.

Set your greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals for 2025, 2030, and 2050.

Creating a forum for employees allows them to voice their opinion and give you new, fresh ideas you might have never thought of.

Make sure everyone is on the same page.

If everyone on your team is consistently educated on sustainability, there should be no disconnect in the efforts your restaurant is making to become more sustainable.

Change lease if necessary.

Incorporate sustainability into purchasing practices. Items that you buy or receive come with packaging that becomes waste that you have to deal with. Your Advisor can help your business build an environmental purchasing policy and connect you with additional helpful resources.

PACE allows you to connect with other restaurants to learn about their goals and active efforts in addressing sustainability.

Understanding current trends builds a platform where your restaurant can successfully address sustainability in a leadership position.

Make sure everyone knows about your goals and how important it is for you to reach those goals.

People love to hear about your successes.

To achieve sustainable business certification in the following areas, businesses must demonstrate:

• Energy – EnergyStar Portfolio Manager score of 75 or better.
• Waste – Diversion of at least 85 percent of waste stream away from the landfill.
• Water – Water savings of 15 percent better than usage predicted by code.
• Transportation – More employees take sustainable forms of transportation to work than the community average.

Remove unnecessary lighting to reduce energy usage.

Replace T12 or T8 fixtures with LED technology, which can provide superior lighting quality, better dimming and occupancy sensing capability, lasts longer, and uses 40-60% less energy than fluorescent.

Occupancy sensors installed in areas of varying occupancy, such as bathrooms, break rooms, private offices, storage closets, and meeting rooms, are a great way to save energy by automatically turning lights off when the area is not in use.

As kitchen equipment is replaced, look for ENERGY STAR-rated models to provide the highest efficiency. When you are ready to purchase new kitchen equipment, contact your Advisor to explore a few different options and determine which rebates you may qualify for. The chart below outlines specific appliances and the corresponding rebates available.

Regular inspection should be done to ensure dampers are working properly, filters are replaced, and motors and coils are clean and keep supply and return air ducts clean.

Log these setbacks.

Air sealing is one of the most cost-effective efficiency measures. Even an eighth-of-an-inch gap around a seven-foot door is the same as a two-and-a-half-inch hole in the wall. Installing permanent weather seals is the best solution.

Conventional pre-rinse spray valves could be upgraded to WaterSense-certified models to save both energy and water. According to the EPA, businesses can save more than $115 annually on energy and water costs by switching to a WaterSense labeled pre-rinse spray valve. At 1.5 gpm, you can reduce your water use without sacrificing water pressure. You can purchase high efficiency aerators at any local hardware store and install them yourself.

Enable power management settings on computers by putting them into hibernate or sleep mode when not in use. This can reduce energy up to 60% after hours and 45% during office hours. Reduce phantom power drains by turning off or unplugging equipment that not in use, or is used infrequently, such as personal printers and scanners. Use load or occupancy sensing power strips or electrical outlet timers.

The energy efficiency could increase greatly in the building by adding insulation to increase the R-value of the existing conditions. This will reduce heat loss in the winter months and increase comfort levels during the summer months.

Energy can easily be lost through windows and doors, especially when they are left open or have leaks.

Weigh your options.

PV Solar Rebates are offered at $1 per watt and is capped at $15,000. Rebates for solar do not count toward other parcel caps. As with other Boulder County rebates, funds must be reserved prior to purchase/installation.

Renewable energy certificates (also known as renewable energy credits, or RECs) represent the energy generated by renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power facilities. Buying RECs is not equivalent to buying electricity. Instead, RECs represent the clean energy attributes of renewable electricity.

As kitchen equipment is replaced, look for ENERGY STAR-rated models to provide the highest efficiency. When you are ready to purchase new kitchen equipment, contact your Advisor to explore a few different options and determine which rebates you may qualify for.

A feasibility study can help to identify if a given project should be undertaken by delineating costs and risks associated with various areas of the project’s development. PACE offers rebates on heating.

Replace old water heater with tankless ENERGY STAR model. ENERGY STAR rated models provide the highest efficiency, often using 25-50% less energy, and tankless water heaters can save 45-60% on energy, where appropriate.

Providing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at work has been demonstrated to make employees 20 times more likely to purchase an EV even though 80% of charging typically happens at home. Grants are available from the Regional Air Quality Council up to $9000 for Level II charging stations.

Encourage walkable neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods that create a safer and better place for pedestrians to walk. This can include auto-free zones, clear and continuous pedestrian access, and improving parking in these areas.

Encourage the use of public transportation. Post bus schedules and carpooling options in visible locations. The EcoPass smartcard is valid for unlimited rides on all regular RTD bus and light rail service. Employees with an EcoPass are five to nine times more likely to ride the bus than employees without one, reducing parking issues and emissions from commuting.

Waste can be reduced by incorporating sustainability into purchasing practices. Items that you buy or receive come with packaging that becomes waste that you have to deal with. Your Advisor can help your business build an environmental purchasing policy and connect you with additional helpful resources.

Many cleaning products have been shown to degrade indoor air quality, pollute the water, and negatively impact the health of sensitive occupants. In effort to maintain a clean facility, service providers and facility managers often use harsh solutions that, while disinfecting the building, contaminate the indoor air.

Doing an irrigation assessment involves field observations of the irrigation system as well as taking pressure and water measurements.

The toilets in your building are usually 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) tank-type toilets. Upgrading these fixtures to 1.28 or less gpf toilets can help your facility reduce water use. It is important to install WaterSense-labeled equipment when replacing these fixtures. WaterSense toilets are independently certified to have an effective flush volume and pass performance tests.

• Reduce pollution through effective implementation of this guide.
• Incorporate climate-preparedness measures in anticipation of extreme weather and other climate-related impacts.
• Define and describe local climate priorities, as well as report on the progress of your climate plans and the benefits of local climate solutions.

• Promote local solutions throughout the community (climate impacts affect us all).
• Share opportunities for the community to participate in climate solutions.
• Support engagement efforts and boost public awareness.
• Utilize the tools offered through Path to Positive Communities to support your engagement efforts.

• Share successes, ideas, and best practices with other organizations throughout the community, and encourage them to join in taking a stand on climate.
• Facilitate local or regional collaboration. This initiative will enhance local impact and magnify it.

• Support policy across multiple levels of government.
• Put pressure on local leaders, governors and state governments to act.
• Call upon Congress and the president to pass legislation that will expand existing climate action efforts with fellow big-city mayors and mayoral coalitions.
• Promote international climate solutions.