ALLIANCE for 

SUSTAI\ABLE COLORADO 

Transforming Sustainability from Vision to Reality 

Zach Owens 

EPA Talking Points 

28 July 2014 

EPA Talking Points 

• introduce myself (Name, Denver Native, Alliance for Sustainable Colorado) 

o Alliance Center: Colorado's Hub of Sustainability 

• Thank the EPA for their work on the Clean Power Plan 

• My inspiration: learning about climate change in college: Le Chatelier's principle and ocean 

acidification 

• Colorado faces extreme weather events such as draught, wildfire and flooding; which threatens 

our agriculture, water and health. UR;441 /4/ 40-f t

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• The Future we want 

o Full-spectrum sustainability: 

C.._ ■

■ 

Creating a strong local economy and real prosperity 

■ 

Mitigating global climate change 

■ 

Using natural resources wisely 

■ 

Protecting ecosystems and the services they offer 

■ 

Ensuring social and environmental justice 

■ 

Reconnecting people to nature 

■ 

Enabling sufficient environmental an d civic literacy 

■ 

Building community resilience 

■ 

Engaging and mobilizing citizens 

■ 

Protecting and enhancing public health 

Safeguarding local and national security 

• Express support for the Clean Power Plan to help clean up our air and mitigate global climate 

change. 

• By cleaning up and modernizing power plants, we will begin to clean up our air, reduce pollutionrelated illness, and curb the worst effects of climate disruption. 

• Urge EPA to strengthen the standard, prioritize energy efficiency and renewable energy, and 

ensure affected communities and workers have a seat at the table and resources to transition to a 

clean energy economy. Prioritize energy efficiency like we have done a he Alliance Center. 

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Alliance for Sustainable Colorado TA cat' tv-e- 044 0,01- trt 

1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 100, Denver, CO 80202 • 303.572.1536 • Fax: 303.572.0032 • www.sustainablecolorado.org 

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ALLIANCE nor 

SUSTAI\ABLE COLORADO 

Transforming Sustainability from Vision to Reality 

• Other states can model Colorado by prioritizing energy efficiency, implementing renewable 

energy standards, and steering away from nuclear energy. 

• b' g carbon pollution from power plants will not only save billions of dollars, it will save 

• Thank the EPA for the opportunity to speak and provide testimony. 

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• Green Building Features: • pitegrakd sysk,,s 

o The vast majority of the building has LED lighting. LED lamps are used in the majority of a-a-cl 

locations that would have otherwise been linear fluorescent lights. In certain instances, 

linear fluorescent lighting was used for particular lighting fixtures and to meet certain 

building codes. 

o Glass walls and doors throughout the building allow natural sunlight to penetrate the 

office space, which reduces the usage of artificial lights. As a result, The Alliance Center 

has 15 foot-candle lighting above work stations. This is the least amount of light we can 

provide to reduce our demand on energy and to date we have not received any 

complaints from our Tenant-Partners about not having enough light to work. 

o The Alliance Center has motion sensors in most spaces throughout the building, which 

allow lighting usage to be reduced when a space is not in use. 

o All fixtures and appliances are e-star where possible (the only exception is the commercial 

dishwasher in the kitchen). 

o The Alliance Center has a white roof, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 

Traditional rooftops are made with tar, which absorbs heat, leads to excessive AC use, 

increased stress on the grid, and increased carbon gas emissions. 

o The HVAC system is divided into a plethora of zones based on the location of fanpowered boxes, allowing us to activate portions of the building rather than having to 

engage the entire system. 

o Over the next month, the Alliance's HVAC system will be integrated with our lighting 

motion sensors and meeting room reservation system. The HVAC will become activated 

in a specific space when the motion sensors are activated or when a meeting is scheduled. 

• Cultural Norms 

Alliance for Sustainable Colorado 

1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 100, Denver, CO 80202 • 303.572.1536 • Fax: 303572.0032 • wwwsustainablecolorado.org 

How The Alliance Center has reduced its carbon footprint 
ALLIANCE rc, 

SUSTAINABLE COLORADO 

Transforming Sustainability from Vision to Reality 

o Our tenants sign a community covenant that embraces sustainable work-life choices to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including: 

■ taking multi-modal transportation (biking, walking, mass transit and car-

■ 

sharing) 

practicing energy efficiency in the work place (such as turning off monitors when 

people leave their desks and taking the stairs instead of the elevator) 

Alliance for Sustainable Colorado 

1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 100, Denver, CO 80202 • 303.572.1536 • Fax: 303.572.0032 • www.sustainablecoloradaorg