Leading by Example
Sustainability is a path, a journey, not an end result. Greening Government is on that path. Here is a sampling of recent accomplishments toward meeting the Greening Government goals.
The Governor's Energy Office, the State Purchasing Office, and multiple state agencies and colleges have completed the 2008 RTD Eco Pass renewal process. The number of organizations participating in the program increased from 36 to 40. See details for each organization in the State Agency 2008 Renewals report. (
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Greening Government has completed a survey of state employees regarding commuting to work. The survey results will be used to determine the best strategies for working with state employees to reduce emissions from commuting and work related travel. Take a look at the Employee Commute Survey results ( 36 KB).
The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) announced on June 27, 2007, the release of a new report to help building owners and design teams better understand the costs and benefits of constructing high-performance, green buildings in Colorado. “Cost and Benefits of LEED-NC in Colorado” is now available at no cost, on the GEO website in the Publications Section. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the standard for green building rating systems. This report provides results based on the study of 11 Colorado green building projects certified by the USGBC.
The state currently has five LEED® certified state-owned office buildings and three LEED® certified buildings as part of its higher education community:
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment {LEED- New Construction (NC)},
- State of Colorado Human Services building {LEED- Existing Building (EB)}
- Colorado’s State Services building (LEED-EB)
- Colorado Judicial and History Museum complex – two buildings (LEED-EB)
- University of Colorado Memorial Center (LEED- EB-Silver), Boulder
- University of Colorado, Boulder Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Center (LEED-NC-Silver)
- Classrooms of Guggenheim Hall (LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) - Silver) Colorado State University, Fort Collins
The State of Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration is one of thirty one organizations participating in the USGBC's Portfolio Pilot Program to develop volume certification submittal documentation, quality control, education plans, policy language and other resources that will help integrate the adoption of LEED into the design, construction and operations practices of participating organizations. Since volume certification is a key element of making LEED integration possible, during the pilot phase most of the participants and the USGBC are focusing on testing the volume certification processes.
The Governor’s Biofuels Coalition and its partners such as Pester Marketing, Western Convenience, and the Colorado Corn Growers have opened a total of 12 new stations this year. As of July 2007, Colorado has 27 E85 Ethanol and 24 biodiesel refueling sites. The Coalition and its partners provided assistance to these sites that now offer biofuels, such as E85 and biodiesel: Aurora, Basalt, Brighton, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Evergreen, Fort Collins, Greeley, Lakewood, and Parker. Future station openings are planned for Canon City, Delta, Fort Morgan, Rifle, and other locations. For more details on station location, including hours and fuels sold, visit The Department of Energy's Station Locator.
First Lady Jeannie Ritter and Energy Office Director Tom Plant announced June 28, 2007, the greening of the Governor’s Residence with the installation of two solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the Tebo Visitor’s Center at the Carriage House. Colorado will join just a handful of states that generate on-site power through a PV system for their Governor’s Residence.
