May 2023
Welcome to Partners for a Clean Environment's (PACE) newsletter. PACE is your one-stop shop for business sustainability in Boulder County. This newsletter is emailed once a month and shares ways your business can save money and energy through sustainability and climate action initiatives.
PACE Small Business Equity Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant: Now Available
PACE is excited to continue an initiative to help small businesses throughout Boulder County save energy and money by replacing outdated refrigeration and restaurant equipment.

The Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant covers up to 70% of the costs of replacing old/inefficient equipment with new/energy-efficient models.

To be eligible for this program, businesses must meet the following criteria:
  • Business is located within Boulder County. Minority-owned businesses are highly encouraged to apply
  • Must be under 2,500 sq. ft.
  • In addition to restaurants and grocery stores, the Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant is open to convenience stores, liquor stores, and other operations with commercial refrigeration or food service equipment.
  • Existing equipment must be manufactured in 2005 or earlier.
  • Commercial equipment included in the grant: refrigerators, freezers, merchandisers, dishwashers, ice machines

More information, a full list of eligibility requirements, and applications can be found at: www.pacepartners.com/small-business
Have You Updated Your Businesses Compost Collection?
Last month, our region's commercial compost manufacturer, A1 Organics, simplified the materials they accept from all communities along the Front Range in response to contamination challenges across the region. Has your business modified your compost collection operations to only accept food scraps and yard trimmings? If you'd like support, PACE is here to help! Contact your PACE advisor at info@PACEpartners.com or 303-786-7223.

Resources:
 
With simplified compost guidelines and inevitably more waste going to the landfill, we can all be reminded of the very basics: reduce and reuse before we recycle and compost. Does your business have opportunities to reduce and reuse? Check out these new incentives to help your business incorporate more reusable opportunities:
  • Up to $2,000 incentive toward reusable solutions (City of Boulder only)
  • Up to $1,000 incentive towards reusable cups for venues (City of Boulder only)
For more details on new and existing incentives and resources, check out PACE's waste reduction incentive webpage.

Speaking of reuse.... is your business using DeliverZero?
DeliverZero stocks restaurants with durable, stackable, reusable containers that it later retrieves from the end customer before commercially sanitizing, and recirculating to restaurants. Containers cost significantly less than the least expensive disposable containers on the market. A win for the environment and your bottom line.
To inquire or sign up, contact Ashwin at ashwin@deliverzero.com.
The City of Boulder Has a New Podcast
The City of Boulder just dropped the first three episodes of their new podcast, Let's Talk Boulder! The show explores the Boulder community through conversations with city staff, local leaders and neighbors. 
 
Tune in to the first episodes to hear stories from folks on the frontlines of wildland firefighting and climate resilience work. The conversations dig into a variety of topics tied to wildfire and the climate crisis, including the importance of community connections during emergencies, ways to make your home more fire-resilient, and the role mushrooms play in reducing local wildfire risk.   
 
Let's Talk Boulder is available on all major listening platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow on your listening app to get notified about new episodes. Visit the city’s website to learn more.