Aspen’s ZGreen Program Wins EPA Clean Air Excellence
Contact: Ashley Cantrell (970) 429-1831 or Lauren McDonell (970) 309-3782
ASPEN, COLO. (May 27, 2010) – Mayor Mick Ireland is in Washington DC this week to accept an award for Clean Air Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of the City’s ZGreen Program. Council Member Torre is joining the Mayor on his trip and the two will be meeting with Senators during their visit. The City of Aspen ZGreen program is a third party certification that recognizes businesses, citizens and events for their environmental efforts. To become ZGreen certified, businesses and citizens must make changes to their operations or lifestyles in a variety of ways, including taking actions to improve air quality. The program has 21 certified ZGreen businesses, and more than 200 certified citizens, 130 of which have agreed to make a change to reduce air pollution. Their commitment will reduce PM-10 levels in Aspen by an average of 86,718 grams per year.
The ZGreen Events program, once a voluntary certification program, is now required for all Special Events requesting a permit in the City of Aspen. ZGreen staff works with more than forty events each year to reduce waste, energy use and air pollution. The City of Aspen is the first town in Colorado to require events to meet environmental standards. This summer, look for ZGreen events around town featuring the City of Aspen’s portable solar trailer, Sunny the Solar Roller. Sunny is free to use and provides clean, renewable power to Aspen’s events. For more information or to become certified, visit www.aspenzgreen.com.
To see the EPA’s press release regarding this nationwide honor, visit their website at http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/index.htm and search for EPA Honors Clean Air Initiatives from Across the Country Winners demonstrate excellence in innovation, commitment.
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