Register your business
Want help educating customers and employees? Check out Eco-Cycle's Implementation Guide for Businesses or email sage@westminsterco.gov for assistance.
The following businesses have gone above and beyond to promote sustainability within their organization
Join these businesses by becoming SAGE Certified: Learn about certification here!
Email SAGE@westminsterco.gov or call 303-658-2662 to set up an advising session and for any questions and comments.
SAGE advisors and program partners will work with you to create a personalized plan to reach your sustainability goals and provide resources and expertise to achieve it! We can also help you become a SAGE Certified Sustainable Business if that's your goal. Best of all, we do it for free. Here's how:
Assessment: We offer free, tailored evaluations from sustainability experts that identify the best opportunities for your businesses to save money, increase efficiency, reduce waste, and minimize resource use.
Planning: We create actionable plans that remove the guesswork and headache from implementation and maximize cost savings.
Connection: We connect you to the resources you need to successfully implement sustainable practices and achieve your goals.
Recognition: We recognize your accomplishments to make you more marketable to employees and customers, celebrating the completion of your project or the SAGE Sustainable Business Certification.
Promotion: We will include your business in SAGE advertising and publicity efforts. We will help you tell your sustainability story and gain community recognition.
SAGE advisors spend time understanding your business and culture, taking into account your unique context and delivering fit-for-purpose sustainability solutions. In doing so, your business will benefit from cost savings, reduced business risk, and long-term reputation and revenue gains. The SAGE program provides the best-fit resources for any challenge, topic, or issue area.
Schedule an Advising Session Here
SAGE advisors and partners provide expertise, strategies, and resources to help your business advance sustainable business practices in the following topics:
In working with SAGE, you’ll find our business sustainability advisors and partners to be your most valuable resource. Our advisors bring a diverse array of experience and technical expertise to unique sustainability topics and areas. While advisors work one-on-one with each business, they also collaborate to problem-solve and develop best-in-class strategies to help you meet your sustainability goals. Our advisors can connect you to program partners that provide free or low-cost assessments, equipment, educational opportunities, and additional resources. SAGE advisors can also connect you to specific City staff who are experts in water conservation, storm-water management, transportation and mobility, and community engagement.
Being a SAGE Certified Sustainable Business demonstrates your commitment to benefiting the environment and the Westminster community to your customers and employees. Earn recognition for completing sustainable best practices. In doing so, you'll cut costs, conserve resources, educate employees, and reduce waste.
To begin the process of certification, register on the Green Business Tracker (GBT) portal where you'll work through a best-practice checklist and complete measures that count towards certification. Register in Green Business Tracker (GBT) here!
Download and follow the SAGE Certification Guide for step-by-step instructions or follow the steps below:
Your business will also receive the following SAGE Certified business materials:
Use of the SAGE Self-Marketing Toolkit to communicate and promote your sustainability achievements.
Networking: By becoming a SAGE Certified business, you'll be invited to SAGE-hosted networking opportunities and meetups to grow collaboration and relationships between this cohort of businesses committed to sustainable operations.
Get a sneak peek of the checklist for your business type or sector:
Don't see your favorite business on this list? Encourage them to contact us to learn how to become a SAGE Certified Business and to receive a free sustainability consultation.
See below for a map highlighting SAGE Certified Businesses in Westminster.
Growing Home received the 2023 "Sustainable Business of the Year Award." Growing Home, in partnership with the community, advances equity in food, housing, parenting education, and lifelong stability to create lasting change for the future. They also envision a thriving, healthy, and equitable community for all.
So why was Growing Home chosen as the SAGE Sustainable Business of the Year? They stood out among SAGE businesses in the following ways:
GQue received the 2022 "Sustainable Business of the Year Award" because they’re equally dedicated to serving up amazing tasting food, providing a great place to work, and to benefitting the local community. They stood out among the business community in the following ways:
Practices like these that not only highlight how GQue not only serves up one tasty pulled pork sandwich, but does so in a way that benefit their business, the community, and the environment.
Vestar: The Orchard Town Center was selected due to their outstanding sustainability achievements, including:
Premier Members was selected due to their outstanding sustainability achievements, including:
Commercial building certification
If your building is 50,000 square feet or more, you need to report your annual energy use to the Colorado Energy Office Owners.
Do I get credit for good things I’m already doing? Yes! In fact, your business may already qualify. You can get credit for existing practices, as well as newly adopted ones implemented to meet the SAGE Certification requirements.
Do I have to do everything on the GBT checklist to become certified? No. Although you must complete the required “core” measures in the General, Energy, Waste, Transportation, and Water categories and one measure in the Community category. You only need to complete at least three “elective” measures in any of the categories. The certification checklist is intended to give businesses flexibility in their approach to becoming certified.
How do I determine if a measure is not applicable? There are a couple of reasons why a measure could be not applicable (N/A) to your business. If you do not use, possess, or have control over a piece of equipment or policy in your building (perhaps because you do not own your facility), that measure would be considered N/A.
How long does my certification last? Once your business is certified, it will always be certified as long as you maintain and keep up the measures you committed to. SAGE advisors may conduct site visits to certified businesses to ensure measures are maintained. However, the SAGE Certification may evolve over time. Possible changes include multiple tiers of certification or the introduction of a certification specifically for resource tracking and management. SAGE reserves the right to revoke certifications if businesses are not in compliance with city codes, laws, regulations and/or the measures they have completed.
Is there a cost to certification? No! SAGE Certification is a FREE service provided by the city for all businesses.
My business is out of my home. Can I get certified? SAGE is designed to apply to businesses located in non-residential spaces. At this time, home-based businesses do not qualify for certification. However, the city offers sustainability assistance and services to residents, see our resources here.
How long will it take for my business to get certified? The amount of time required to complete the certification process varies depending on the complexity of your business and the practices you already have in place. To receive certification, all businesses register and complete the Green Business Tracker (GBT) assessment, a tool to help you collect information that will be used to measure your environmental performance and list the minimum requirements for earning certification.
Contact Sage
Email SAGE@westminsterco.gov or call 303-658-2662 to set up an advising session, get your questions answered, and to provide comments.
Sustainable businesses are well connected and interact with the business community. To support businesses, SAGE facilitates and encourages relationships between businesses that foster “best practice” sharing, collaboration and learning opportunities.
Our networking partners include:
Ongoing training opportunities:
Westminster Economic Development Business Trainings: See here for a calendar of upcoming trainings
ENERGYSTAR and EPA Best-Practices: See here for a calendar of upcoming trainings. You can also find answers to frequently asked questions about ENERGY STAR Buildings at here.
Rebate on Resusables: SAGE’s newest incentive is a one-time rebate for buying reusable solutions to help your business comply with the new state requirements. The refund will cover up to 75% of total costs up to $1,500. Reusable solutions include but are not limited to:
Apply for Rebate Here!
Commuting tax credits
The State of Colorado will provide a tax credit of up to 50% to employers to provide eco-friendly commuting options to employees. Eligible uses include:
Email SAGE to talk more about your commuting needs and to be paired with a commuting specialist
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA): Guide to Small Business Resources
In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to fight the climate crisis, grow domestic clean energy production, lower prescription drug costs, expand access to affordable health care coverage, and raise taxes on high-earning corporations—all to rebuild the US middle class for families, workers, and businesses. Within this massive bill come numerous opportunities for small businesses—from accessing solar energy to electric vehicles and more.
Learn how the IRA can benefit your business here!
Have an idea of what you want to focus on, but need a little guidance? The following resources provide a structured approach for you to dive deep into a specific technical or specific sustainability topic.
Organizational sustainability
Thank you for subscribing. You will receive your first email(s) soon.
There was an error processing your request. Please try again later.
Select the lists you'd like below.