greenbusinesscoordinator@gmail.com

On August 12, local businesses and community members gathered at the Park City Chamber for our latest Green Business Lunch & Learn.

Speakers from U-CREW, Vote Solar, and Summit County shared practical ways businesses can reduce energy use, explore solar and other clean energy options, and prepare for the new Community Clean Energy Program.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways:

1. Efficiency first: Use less before you source more

Emily Quinton, Sustainability Director for Summit County, set the stage by introducing the energy management hierarchy and how businesses can use it to prioritize their energy efforts: reduce demand → improve efficiency → source clean energy → offset what remains. 

Starting with conservation and efficiency can reduce both operating costs and emissions—and help businesses appropriately “right-size” their future clean energy demands. The same hierarchy can apply to water and waste, too: use less first, then find smarter, more sustainable ways to meet the need. 

2. Not sure where to start? Get a no-cost energy assessment

Creed McCord, Program Engineer with U-CREW, highlighted a practical way for businesses to identify energy-saving opportunities: a no-cost energy assessment for commercial buildings. 

The U-CREW consists of University of Utah faculty and student engineers who evaluate your facility and provide actionable recommendations tailored to your building and goals–whether that’s reducing energy use, lowering operating costs, cutting emissions, or exploring new technologies. The resulting report includes engineering and economic analysis, project costs, estimated energy and cost savings, payback periods, and eligible utility rebates and incentives–giving businesses a prioritized roadmap.

Ready to see what opportunities might exist at your business? Request a no-cost energy assessment.

Green Business tip: Completing an energy assessment can also earn you points toward Green Business certification.

3. Solar is becoming a bigger part of Utah’s energy picture

Kate Bowman, Regulatory Director at Vote Solar, shared how solar is playing a growing role in Utah’s energy mix—and the different ways businesses can take advantage of it. 

As costs have fallen, solar has become one of the most cost-competitive sources of new electricity generation and an increasingly important part of Utah’s energy mix. Just this May, solar generated more electricity in the state than any other energy source—a significant milestone.

For businesses looking to tap into solar, there are more options than ever—from participating in Rocky Mountain Power programs such as  Blue Sky or Subscriber Solar to generating their own electricity with rooftop solar.

Considering rooftop solar? Start with your energy use. Understanding how much electricity your business consumes can help determine the right system size and potential savings. Building ownership, available space, roof condition, and shading are also key considerations. 

Businesses can also take it a step further by adding battery storage, which helps maximize rooftop solar benefits by storing excess solar energy for later use, providing backup power, and even supporting the electric grid during periods of high demand.

Ready to explore whether solar could work for your business? Resources from Utah Clean Energy, Energy Sage, and Solar United Neighbors can help you learn more about your options and how to get started.

4. A new community program will invest in Utah’s clean energy future

Emily Quinton closed out the discussion by introducing the new Community Clean Energy Program (CCEP) and what local businesses should know as the program prepares to launch.

Participating customers will collectively help bring new utility-scale clean energy onto Utah’s grid. The program aims to develop enough new clean energy to eventually match the annual electricity use of participating customers—achieving a net-100% clean energy goal.

Locally, CCEP will be available to Rocky Mountain Power customers in Park City, unincorporated Summit County, Francis, and Oakley, with a launch currently projected for early 2027. All customers are eligible to participate, with the exception of certain residential solar customers on Schedule 135.

So, what does CCEP mean for your business?

• You’ll be enrolled automatically unless you opt out. Eligible customers will be automatically enrolled in the program, but participation is optional.
• The cost will depend on how much electricity you use. Participating businesses will see a new Schedule 100 line item on their bill at $0.00609 per kWh, plus a $0.12 low-income monthly surcharge.
• You’ll hear more from Rocky Mountain Power before anything changes. Two rounds of customer notices are expected to begin in November 2026, ahead of the program’s anticipated early 2027 launch.
• There will be an initial window to opt out without a termination fee. That window is currently expected to run through May 2027. Afterward, customers can still leave the program, but a termination fee will apply.

For participating businesses, CCEP offers an opportunity to help shape Utah’s clean energy future—and demonstrate that commitment to employees, customers, and the broader community. 

Ready to put some of these ideas into action? The Green Business Program has actions to help businesses reduce energy use, explore clean energy, and earn points toward certification along the way. 

Businesses can earn points for tracking energy use, completing an energy assessment, participating in a utility clean energy program, and many other energy-saving practices.

Want to learn more? View the August Lunch & Learn slide deck.

Stay tuned for our next Green Business Lunch & Learn, coming this November!

By Kimberly Flores, Owner of fulFILLed Lifestyle Co. and a Certified Silver Green Business

Plastic Free July is a global movement that encourages people to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics through simple, everyday choices. What began as a small campaign has grown into a worldwide movement involving millions of participants across more than 190 countries—all working toward the same goal: reducing plastic waste, one habit at a time.

The challenge isn’t about being perfect. It’s about discovering a few practical changes that fit your lifestyle or business and continuing them long after July ends. For businesses, many of these small changes can do double duty—reducing plastic waste while earning points toward Green Business certification.

The need has never been greater. Since plastic became widely used, humans have produced roughly 10 billion tons of plastic, yet only about 9% has ever been recycled. Much of the rest ends up in landfills, waterways, or breaks down into microplastics that persist in our environment for hundreds of years.

The good news? Small, everyday choices can add up to make a big difference.

Start with Your Plastic “Hotspots”

Rather than trying to eliminate every piece of plastic from your life overnight, identify the places where you use the most disposable plastics. Maybe it’s takeout containers, bottled beverages, shopping bags, cleaning products, or bathroom products.

Once you identify those habits, replacing just one or two with reusable alternatives becomes much more manageable.

Here are a few simple swaps to get started:

• Carry a reusable water bottle or coffee mug.
• Bring reusable shopping and produce bags.
• Skip disposable utensils and straws.
• Store leftovers in reusable containers instead of plastic bags.
• Switch to shampoo bars, bar soap, or refillable personal care products.
• Refill household cleaning and personal care products instead of purchasing new plastic bottles.
• Shop secondhand when possible.

Remember, the most sustainable product is often the one you already have.

Businesses Can Make a Difference Too

Plastic reduction isn’t just something individuals can do. Whether you own a retail store, restaurant, office, hotel or lodging property, or another type of business, there are many practical ways to reduce unnecessary plastic while conserving resources and reducing waste.

Join the Plastic-Free July Bingo Challenge

Want to make Plastic Free July a little more fun?

This year, we’re inviting the community to participate in a Plastic-Free July Bingo Challenge.

Complete simple plastic-free activities throughout the month—like bringing your own shopping bag, trying a shampoo bar, shopping secondhand, conducting a household trash audit, or refilling your cleaning products.

Once you complete any row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), bring your completed bingo card into fulFILLed Lifestyle Co. to receive 20% off your next purchase.

Share your progress on social media and tag us for a chance to be featured.

Download your Plastic-Free July Bingo Card here.

Join Us for a Free Community Screening

fulFILLed Lifestyle Co. is partnering with Recycle Utah and Zero Waste Wasatch Back for a free screening of The Plastic Detox.

Wednesday, July 22
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Jim Santy Auditorium, Park City

The documentary explores how plastics and everyday chemicals affect both environmental and human health, followed by a community discussion with local partners.

At fulFILLed Lifestyle Co., we believe sustainable living should be approachable, affordable, and enjoyable. Whether you’re making one simple swap or rethinking how your business reduces waste, every step matters. 

We hope you’ll join us for an evening of learning, conversation, and inspiration—and leave with new ideas you can put into practice long after Plastic Free July ends.

Register here.

Emily Newcomer, Green Business Program Coordinator

One thing I’ve been struck by since becoming Green Business Program Coordinator is how much sustainability work is already happening across Summit County. Businesses are reducing waste, conserving water, improving energy efficiency, and finding other ways to make a positive impact every day.

The challenge often isn’t doing the work—it’s finding the time and words to talk about it.

That was one of the themes explored during Beyond Buzzwords: Writing Sustainability Content People Care About, a recent workshop hosted by the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau and led by Right On Founding Partner, Kim Grob and Creative Director, Beth Lopez. The session offered practical ideas for communicating sustainability in ways that resonate with people. It also served as a reminder that these lessons apply to the Green Business Program, too, challenging us to think about how we communicate sustainability in ways that feel approachable, relevant, and meaningful to local businesses.

Here are three takeaways from the workshop that I think local businesses may find helpful when communicating their sustainability efforts:

1. Start with the Why

One of the biggest takeaways was that effective communication starts with the audience, not the topic.

It’s easy to write from a “we” perspective: We’re reducing waste. We’re conserving water. We’re improving energy efficiency.

The workshop challenged participants to flip that thinking and start with the audience instead. Why should they care? How does this affect them? What problem does it solve?

For example:

Instead of saying:
“Our restaurant recently implemented a food waste diversion program.”

Consider saying:
“When you eat here, your meal is prepared to be not just delicious, but thoughtful too. And if you leave a few bites behind, they’ll be turned into compost instead of being sent to the landfill.”

Or:

Instead of saying:
“We’ve installed energy-efficient lighting throughout our store.”

Consider saying:
“The next time you stop by, you may notice the store feels a little brighter. New energy-efficient lighting helps us create a more enjoyable shopping experience while using less energy.”

In each example, the action is the same. The difference is that the rewrite connects the sustainability effort to something the audience can see, feel, or care about.

Before writing a website update, newsletter article, or social media post, ask:

• Who am I trying to reach?
• What do they care about?

2. Leave the Jargon Behind

The workshop also challenged participants to think about sustainability terms that may be familiar within the industry but don’t mean much to the average reader.

Participants were encouraged to replace technical language with words and phrases that feel more relatable and less polarizing.

For example:

Instead of saying…	Consider saying…
Decarbonization	Cutting pollution
Circular Economy	Continuous use
Achieve Net Zero	Clean up as much as we pollute
Waste Diversion	Recycling

During the workshop, attendees were challenged to rewrite a message about glass recycling that was packed with terms like waste diversion rates, automated optical sorters, Scope 3 emissions, and decarbonization trajectories. While technically accurate, those terms can make it easy for readers to gloss over the message if they don’t immediately understand what they mean.

The revised version was much simpler:

“Give your empty glass containers a new life. New free glass collection sites in Kimball Junction, Coalville, and Kamas make it easy to recycle your empty glass containers. Instead of wasting space in the landfill, these containers become insulation for homes.”

The goal isn’t to oversimplify. It’s simply to make sure people understand what you’re talking about without needing a sustainability dictionary.

As someone who has worked in recycling and sustainability for many years, I appreciated this reminder. Sometimes the words we use most often are the same words that cause folks to tune out.

3. Make It Local and Authentic

The workshop also emphasized the importance of bringing your organization’s personality and voice into your communications.

People are more likely to remember a story about a person, challenge, or experience than a statistic or broad sustainability claim. That means moving beyond broad sustainability statements and focusing on real experiences, local examples, and the people behind the work.

It also means being honest about both successes and challenges. Sustainability isn’t always a straight line, and sharing what you’ve learned along the way can be just as valuable as sharing your accomplishments.

Whether you’re writing a social media post, newsletter article, or website update, think about the story you’re telling. Does it have a beginning, a middle, an end, and a reason for your audience to care?

The more local, specific, and authentic your story feels, the more likely it is to resonate.

Before you hit publish, ask yourself:

• Who am I trying to reach?
• Why should they care?
• Can I replace any jargon with simpler language?
• Can I make this more local or specific?
• Am I talking about benefits or just activities?

Sometimes a few small adjustments can make the difference between content that gets skimmed and a sustainability story that connects.

What This Means for the Green Business Program

This workshop was a reminder that these communication lessons apply to the Green Business Program, too.

It challenged me to think about how we talk about sustainability and certification. Are we communicating in ways that feel approachable and actionable? Are we helping businesses understand where to start, what steps to take, and how sustainability can support the goals they’re already working toward?

It also reinforced the role the program can play in helping businesses tell their stories. Certification is important, but so is recognizing, celebrating, and sharing the work happening behind the scenes. As the program grows, we will continue to create more opportunities to highlight local businesses and amplify the sustainability stories that deserve to be heard.

Thanks to the Workshop Partners

Thank you to the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau for hosting this valuable workshop and to Kim Grob and Beth Lopez at Right On for sharing their expertise and leading such an engaging discussion. The session provided practical communication tools that businesses, nonprofits, community organizations, and sustainability professionals can apply immediately.

To learn more about Right On and its work helping organizations communicate sustainability in meaningful and effective ways, visit wearerighton.com or connect with the team on LinkedIn.