The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) met on Thursday, January 25, at 6:45 p.m. to assess their execution of the 2023 goals.

SAB’s first priority for 2023 was to focus on the use of renewable energy in buildings. Unfortunately, Nederland’s partnership with US Solar did not work out. Nederland was hoping to have a substantial number of residents subscribe to the proposed program. However, technical issues with the website and difficulty in arranging payments created too many obstacles for subscribers.

SAB still hopes to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy for residents by 2025, so they have decided to partner with Pivot Energy. While SAB works to create marketing strategies for the new partnership, its main focus is to communicate to residents the tangible and intangible benefits of renewable energy. By subscribing to Pivot Energy, residents can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.

The second priority SAB had on their list was zero waste. The farmer’s market had a successful season and is continuing to gain popularity. The town is able to reduce its carbon footprint by limiting the travel and packaging of the food sold here. Locally grown food and goods connect us to the planet and support the conscious effort of knowing where our food comes from.

The plastic bag ban is planned to be approved in May by the Board of Trustees so that it can go into effect on July 1. SAB hopes to reach out to local businesses and support them in the transition away from plastic bags. Creating a relationship with these businesses will allow the Town to work together with residents and businesses toward success.

SAB also plans to install a local vessel composter in the next coming months. This vessel will allow businesses to recycle their used plant-based products without having to drive back and forth to the dump.

SAB’s third goal for 2023 was to focus on transportation. The partnership with Colorado Carshare has made great progress in the past few months. The charger and parking spot are ready to go when the vehicle arrives within the next week. The soft launch of the Colorado Carshare program will be promoted by word of mouth. After about a month of the program, SAB hopes to host a hard launch in February. The team is currently discussing a variety of incentives to get residents to participate in Colorado Carshare. Some of their ideas include waiving the application fee and providing some drive credits.

The board is also discussing ways to install more EV chargers across the town in order to make it easier to use electric vehicles. A Level 3 EV charger was to be installed last year; however, there was a delay on Excel’s side because the wrong part was ordered. Excel knows the importance of installing the correct charger as soon as possible so that Nederland can have the charger by the end of 2024.

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board meets on the fourth Thursday of every month. February’s meeting will be on Thursday, February 22, 2024. For more information go to: townofnederland.colorado.gov/ sustainability-advisory-board.