July 2023
Welcome to Partners for a Clean Environment's (PACE) Food Service newsletter. PACE is your one-stop shop for business sustainability in Boulder County. This newsletter is emailed once a month to food service businesses in the City of Boulder and shares ways your business can save money and energy through sustainability and climate action initiatives.
Mark Your Calendars:
Reduce and Reuse Showcase is Saturday, July 29!
Boulder County’s Resource Conservation Division has announced the 2023 Reduce and Reuse Showcase, which will take place Saturday July 29 at 1:00PM. The showcase will highlight local businesses leading reuse innovation and is a great event to attend if you are interested in exploring bringing reusables into your business.


Is your business already rocking reusables? The Resource Conservation Division would love to highlight your efforts at the Showcase. Please contact Chandra at cvalenza@bouldercounty.org if you are interested!
Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant is OPEN
PACE is excited to continue helping small businesses save energy and money by replacing outdated refrigeration and restaurant equipment with the Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant, which covers up to 70% of the costs of replacing old, inefficient equipment with new, energy-efficient models.

To be eligible for this program, businesses must meet the following criteria:
Business is located within Boulder County. Minority-owned businesses are highly encouraged to apply
  • Must be under 2,500 sq. ft.
  • In addition to restaurants and grocery stores, the Refrigeration and Restaurant Equipment Grant is open to convenience stores, liquor stores, and other operations with commercial refrigeration or food service equipment.
  • Existing equipment must be manufactured in 2005 or earlier.
  • Commercial equipment included in the grant: refrigerators, freezers, merchandisers, dishwashers, ice machines
Seeking your Thoughts! Survey on Composting Containers
PACE is exploring a new program to help get composting containers to restaurant kitchens and other back-of-house food service spaces, and we’d love your feedback! Please fill out this 3-minute survey to share your thoughts.
Happening in August: “Climate Action for Business” Online Course
The next session of Climate Action for Business from the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder is coming up on August 22-23.

Designed for people and companies who are just getting started on their climate journey, this online course will help you learn the basics to create a company climate action plan. Developed in collaboration with Project Drawdown, this course includes an intro to the GHG Protocol, Science-Based Targets, CDP and TCFD, stakeholder engagement, and more. Start the application process here.

PACE staff are looking forward to attending this training, and would love to see some local businesses in the (online) crowd!
Reminder: Styrofoam Container Ban coming January 2024
Starting January 1, 2024, the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act goes into full effect, and Colorado retail food establishments will no longer be allowed to provide Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) containers for ready-to-eat food and beverages.
 
Local governments may charge fines for violations, with increasing severity for repeat offenses. Find more details from the Colorado General Assembly here.
 
The City of Boulder offers several incentives for businesses to invest in reusable service-wear:
  • Up to $2000 back for Reusable Solutions that best serve your business
  • Up to $1500 towards Reusable Takeout Container Services (e.g., DeliverZero or r.Cup)


Transition to reusables is just one way to support the transition to a circular economy. Learn more about the City of Boulder’s circular economy initiatives here.