Pueblo Businesses Promote Green Practices
Pueblo’s always been known for its environmentally proactive culture, but it’s getting greener by the minute as new ventures and existing entities ramp up their eco-friendly efforts.
The move to be clean as well as lean can bring a business some welcome attention.
Take cement manufacturer GCC of America, which is now only the second Colorado company to earn a Peak Award from Colorado Performance Excellence, an advisory group that screens projects for the Baldrige National Quality Award.
Then there’s The Water Company, a homegrown enterprise that is expanding its presence here by at least 140 employees over the next three to four years, as well as building a new facility for its research, production and marketing operations.
The company’s wastewater-treatment system includes a material and process invented by native Brian Elson, who sold the patent to the company and leads its research operation.
“Our founder is fourth-generation Pueblo, and the desire to keep the latest, greatest and cutting-edge technology here continues to be a strong push for our company,” says Victoria Hauser, chief financial officer.
“Everything is going just great for us, and we hope to continue to bring in more business.”
Clean is even on the logo at Giovanni Clean, a commercial cleaning and janitorial firm that is growing throughout Pueblo and northern Colorado. The company uses environmentally friendly supplies on its industrial and commercial jobs. And should anyone need a boost while saving the planet, enjoy a cup of Solar Roast Coffee. Brothers David and Michael Hartkop use the Helios 4, swapping fuel for sunlight on sunny days to roast their coffee beans.
Meanwhile, Colorado State University-Pueblo is making news these days for an on-campus solar power system, a fleet of hybrid vehicles and just about everything in between.
“Our solar installation is the largest of any university west of the Mississippi,” says Craig Cason, director of facilities management. “It’s been up and running since mid-2008, and powers about a tenth of the campus.”
The three electric cars are the building blocks of a more economical fleet, in that they offer truck capabilities with much smaller operating costs. Like the 1.2-megawatt solar array, they are the result of an energy performance audit done on campus about five years ago that led to a green cleaning-supplies program, campuswide recycling effort and more.
“There was significant investment up front, but the payback, which will come over the next 10 to 15 years, will be substantial,” Cason says. “And we’ll be going back to the performance audit and updating that so we can continue to add programs and develop the ones we have.
“Everyone has gotten behind this, and with an enrollment now of over 5,000 students, green power is really important,” Cason says. “We’re looking at it as a way to keep costs down even as we have more people on campus.”
