YOUR AD HERE »

A green summer

Dear Editor:Did you know that Aspen is the first municipality in the United States to require that events meet environmental standards?All events requesting a special event permit in the city of Aspen are now required to meet ZGreen standards as a condition of their permit. Aspen’s ZGreen program is a multipronged educational and certification program designed to reduce the environmental footprint of Aspen’s community and business members. This unique program offers individuals, businesses and events effective ways to reduce their environmental impacts, while at the same time providing a third-party certification which recognizes people and organizations committed to meaningful environmental efforts. Events must comply with a series of standards and criteria, including the promotion of alternative transportation, providing on-site recycling, and using 100 percent post-consumer paper for all printed materials given out by the host organization. Event planners can also purchase carbon offsets to further reduce the event’s carbon footprint. The city is offering event planners free use of Sunny the Solar Roller, a portable solar PV system, to power event components with renewable energy. Events with fewer than 200 people serving only beverages are exempt from these new regulations. New events applying for a permit for the first time are also exempt but are encouraged to work toward voluntary ZGreen certification. The highly successful Ride the Rockies and Food & Wine Classic this past weekend in Aspen were both ZGreen-certified, thus beginning the summer of ZGreen events in Aspen! For more information on how permitted events have to meet environmental standards, or how your next event can achieve certification, visit http://www.aspenzgreen.com.Ashley Cantrell and Lauren McDonellCity of Aspen ZGreen program