Sustainability

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    • Sustainability in GoldenContact: Theresa Worsham
    1445 Tenth Street
    Golden, CO 80401
    (303) 384-8117

    Welcome! We’re helping to Sustain Golden’s future. Thank you for joining us.

    Golden City Council made sustainability its top priority starting in 2007. As part of that endeavor, citizens were asked to engage in a broader community-wide effort to establish and implement sustainability goals through several Community Working Groups. The community working groups began meeting to study each of the goal areas in March 2007 and, in July 2007, made recommendations for consideration by City Council. A final evaluation report was produced by Natural Capitalism Solutions, an independent outside third party.

    On Aug. 23, 2007, Golden City Council formally adopted the working groups’ revised sustainability goals with Resolution No. 1793 (pdf). City Council also ranked it’s Top 13 Sustainability Recommendations (pdf) for city staff to review for cost and work-load requirements, in addition to further analysis of creating a sustainability board and hiring a sustainability director. The remaining recommendations made by the working groups will be reviewed over time.

    Concurrently, the City is engaged in an internal effort to reduce its energy consumption by 25%. You can learn more about the internal City efforts by clicking on City Operations at the left.

    The Golden Sustainability Initiative 2013 Progress Report & Work Plan

    Golden is five years into our ten-year Sustainability Goal Plan and has issued a progress report (pdf) outlining progress toward the city and community goals.

    A few interesting facts in the Report include:

    • More than 2,000 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic panels have been installed on Golden homes and businessess since 2008. Put together, a system this size would cover more than 10 acres.
    • Since 2009, more than 500 pounds of pharmaceuticals have been collected and diverted away from our landfills and groundwater.
    • More than 3,400 Golden households use the Pay-As-You-Throw waste and recycling service.

    Sustainability Strategic Plan 

    City of GoldenIn Golden, as across the U.S. and other nations, we are faced with impacts as a result of population growth, resource consumption, and energy needs. Golden is also affected by regional impacts such as the economy, the structuring of local tax revenues, and competing needs for resources by adjacent communities.

    Balancing these factors, the Community Sustainability Advisory Board has adopted the definition of sustainability as “living or acting in a manner that balances improving our quality of life, a healthy vibrant community, and mindful stewardship of the natural resources and environment while protecting the ability of future generations to do the same.”

    In late 2010, the Community Sustainability Advisory Board prioritized a list of sustainability policies and projects that the Board will work toward over the next few years. You may read the full City of Golden Sustainability Strategic Plan (pdf) and learn more about Golden’s plans for a greener future.

    Additional Resources

    The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory & Sustainable Energy Benchmarking and Actions Plan is a CU-Denver Report that measures the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the City’s baseline year, 2007, and provides recommendations on reducing GHG and meeting the City’s sustainability goals. The Report was made possible through a Colorado Municipal League grant in partership with Walmart.

    Get all the latest information on Golden’s Community Garden and learn how to sign up for a 2012 plot.