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Arapahoe County staff outline sustainability gains and seek board support for electrification, greenhouse‑gas goals and business recognition
Summary
The county’s energy program manager told commissioners the facilities program has cut electricity use by about 30%, water by 31% and facility-related greenhouse gases by 38% since 2016; staff proposed a 2% annual facility emissions reduction target, fleet electrification planning with Xcel Energy, and applying for Colorado Green Business Network recognition — the board gave informal support to those steps.
Arapahoe County staff presented a multi-year sustainability update and asked the Board of County Commissioners for near-term direction on recognition, electrification and greenhouse‑gas goal-setting.
Cedar Blazic, the county’s energy program manager, summarized two decades of facility work that staff say yielded a roughly 30% drop in electricity use, a 31% cut in water use and a 38% reduction in facility-related greenhouse-gas emissions since 2016. "We have reduced our electricity by 30%." Blazic said, noting those savings have helped hold utilities spending flat even as prices rose.
Blazic outlined several near-term actions: completing an investment-grade energy audit and energy performance contract (presentation of results expected in July), pursuing beneficial electrification and fleet-electrification advisory support from Xcel Energy, piloting chargers and hybrid/electric vehicles at selected county facilities, and expanding waste-diversion and composting opportunities.
On greenhouse gases, staff quantified facility-plus-fleet emissions at about 8,000 metric tons of CO2 and estimated countywide emissions at roughly 6.4 million metric tons. Blazic recommended staff consider a 2% annual reduction target for county operations and asked whether the board wanted to pursue a countywide target. Commissioners generally supported an internal facility target and asked staff to return with baseline options, achievable targets and resource needs.
Blazic also recommended applying for state recognition through the Colorado Green Business Network; she said the county could likely achieve a silver level now and reach gold by expanding fleet and EPC work. Commissioners gave informal thumbs-up to applying for recognition, leveraging Xcel’s electrification programs, publishing a sustainability webpage and benchmarking department-level efforts.
Staff said next steps include returning with EPC audit results in July, more detailed options for electrification and charger siting, and proposals to measure and report progress against any board-directed targets.
