Boulder Beer Co. Accepts City Energy Reduction Challenge

Boulder Beer Company accepts the Boulder “10 for Change Challenge”

BOULDER, CO, – Hogan & Hartson LLP, Cleantech Solutions, and the city of Boulder kicked-off a program this month challenging Boulder-area businesses to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent over the next year by maximizing the energy efficiency of their buildings. Boulder Beer Company, Colorado’s First Microbrewery, accepted the challenge and came on board as a partnering sponsor of the program.

The “10 for Change Challenge” is a free program that invites businesses to assess and report their monthly electricity and natural gas consumption from October 1, 2008 through October 1, 2009, and then compare those numbers to the energy they used at the same time period last year.

At the “10 for Change” Web site (www.10forchange.net), participants will be able to access technical assistance in determining their business’s baseline electricity consumption and suggestions for energy efficiency solutions. The program will also include bimonthly events to allow participants the opportunity to compare progress and energy-saving ideas, discuss other important conservation steps such as recycling and waste management, and network with other participating businesses. As a sponsor, Boulder Beer Company will host the January networking event, allowing participants to share ideas over pints during happy hour.

“Through ’10 for Change,’ we hope to motivate our staff to do their part in achieving this worthwhile goal and inspire even more of a culture of sustainability within our business,” said Tess McFadden, Marketing Director for Boulder Beer Company. “We’ve created our own internal ‘Green Team’ that’s started meeting on a monthly basis to stay focused on our goal of reducing our energy use by 10% over the next twelve months.”

“The city of Boulder is proud to be a part of this effort and sees this challenge as an incredible opportunity to both motivate and educate the business sector on energy efficiency,” said Kevin Afflerbaugh, Energy Sustainability Coordinator with the City of Boulder, Office of Environmental Affairs. “This unique public/private partnership will hopefully serve as a model that can be replicated in other communities.”

Prior to the 10 for Change Challenge, Boulder Beer Company had already made some significant strides in becoming a more eco-friendly company. Their onsite Pub is PACE Certified (Partners for a Clean Environment). The PACE Program provides education and recognition for environmental achievement in Boulder County businesses. A few of the steps The Pub takes for certification include recycling kitchen fryer-oil for bio-diesel, using all recycled or compostable “to-go” containers, and recycling all paper, commingled containers and composting food waste. The brewery also supports Earth-friendly printing and packaging by using 100% recycled paperboard 6-pack carriers, vegetable oil inks on their beer labels (no petroleum) and compostable keg cups made from corn.