Every visitor and resident of Aspen knows what makes our community so special: the overpowering presence of nature that surrounds and comprises our town. With all of the beauty and activities that nature lends to us, it is our responsibility to dedicate ourselves to protecting and maintaining it. Many locals pride themselves in their efforts to help and as an initiative of ACRA's Aspen Destination Management Plan, we want to promote those businesses with sustainability efforts. Here are some of the practices our local businesses are taking on to help make a difference:
1. The Ute Mountaineer: participates in a recycling program paid for by Patagonia that collects and ships out all #4 plastic bags that their products, both Patagonia and other brands, arrive in. Furthermore, they are dedicated to giving back to the community that has supported their business and aim to do this by championing local organizations, especially those with focuses on the environment in addition to youth and athletics.
2. Kate Maller Jewelry: sustainability is their core guiding principle, with all pieces offered being handcrafted from high quality recycled and fair mined 22k and 18k gold or recycled Argentium silver. Furthermore, the diamonds used are sourced not only conflict free, but also fairtrade. All of the melee diamonds (smaller accent stones) are 100% reclaimed and nearly all are VS quality. In addition to sustainable material sourcing, they are committed to implementing business practices that reduce harmful impacts to the environment and are constantly seeking ways to improve these practices. Some initiatives employed are sourcing materials from local or US owned businesses, using recycled and recyclable packaging, eco-friendly printing practices, non-toxic studio chemicals whenever possible, and recycling and composting at their studio.
3. Z3RO-G Limo: has driven two Teslas over 170,000 fossil fuel free miles in addition to saving 1,324,000 pounds of carbon on garage solar panels alone. Beyond their direct business practices, they also started the Groasis dryland tree project, the Biochar pipeline reclamation project, the Grassland mob grazing reclamation project, and spearheaded a successful 3-year lobbying campaign for a rule change by the Colorado PUC to allow Tesla limousines as luxury vehicles.
4. The Gant: offers a Minimalist Package, allowing guests to forgo housekeeping for the duration of their stay in exchange for a discounted rate of up to 25% off the published rates. Additional mindful perks include sustainable bath amenities, bamboo paper products, a sustainable welcome amenity, reusable shopping bag, WE-Cycle complimentary point-to-point bike rentals, and eclectic vehicle charging stations. Additionally, they are asking guests to consider signing our The Aspen Pledge.The Aspen Chamber Resort Association will be making a donation of $18.80 for each pledge signed, which honors the year Aspen was incorporated, 1880. Those signing the pledge can choose between the Independence Pass Foundation or Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers as the beneficiary organization. For the initial launch, ACRA has committed up to $50,000 in donations!
5. Annabelle Inn: Currently is not doing daily housekeeping service, therefor towels and sheets are only being changed upon request, this has saved on laundry etc. They purchase compostable pods for our in-room keurigs and the in room cups are compostable as well. We've moved back to a pre-covid breakfast this summer, therefor, using dishes and silverware that is washed for less waste. Their lobby coffee/tea cups are compostable as well as the tea bags we purchase for our guests. We are clients of Evergreen Zero Waste, so they compost everything we can, we recycle in theur office as well as recycling bins in the guest rooms.
6. Aspen Meadows Resort: In 2022, the Aspen Meadows Resort switched to a fleet of electric shuttles - becoming the first resort in Aspen to adopt electric shuttles as transportation for hotel guests transit, and trips to and from the Aspen airport. This is projected to offset an estimated 21 metric tons of carbon per year, which is almost enough to fill a balloon the size of two football fields in diameter. In addition, the property now offers two different electric vehicle charging stations. The resort recently replaced all plastic water bottles with reusable options, as well as removed all single-use plastics from guest rooms and lowered its carbon footprint by switching to 100 percent clean electricity to power the resort’s campus. Aspen Meadows has also enacted a robust recycling and composting program and is committed to reducing food waste with a focus on sustainable and local ingredients. In addition, the hotel’s main conference facility (and newest building) was designed and built with the environment in mind and is LEED Gold certified. More details here.
Learn more about sustainability initiatives in Aspen here!
