Sustainability Spotlight - September 2024 - Action Plan Update

In 2017, Mayor Joyce Jay appointed the Wheat Ridge Environmental Sustainability Committee, now known as Sustainable Wheat Ridge. This committee, made up of 12 residents, was tasked with forming the City’s first Sustainability Action Plan focusing on six topic areas: Water, Transportation, Communications & Engagement, Solid Waste & Recycling, Energy Efficiency & Green Building, and Renewable Energy. In June 2018, the plan was presented to City Council and accepted with gratitude but was not formally adopted.

This plan led to hiring the City’s first Sustainability Coordinator, marking the first staff person focusing solely on sustainability. Since then, staff and Sustainable Wheat Ridge have focused on implementation of the action plan. To date, 64% of the plan is completed or in progress. Much of what remains is policy-focused, making it an opportune time to update the initial plan and focus on getting additional buy-in from City staff and leadership.

Prior to beginning the update process, staff conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation. Three proposals were received, and staff interviewed three agencies before ultimately selecting Lotus Engineering & Sustainability as the chosen vendor. The budget for this project is $50,000.

The initial 2018 Sustainability Action Plan focused on the six previously mentioned topic areas and contained 20 goals and 135 implementation strategies. The updated action plan retains the original six topic areas, adds two new ones (Arts & Culture and Businesses & Jobs), and proposes 24 goals and 113 implementation strategies.

This plan represents a major milestone in the progress of Sustainable Wheat Ridge! Check out the draft plan on the right hand side of this page under "Documents."