Category Archives: 2017

Mayor Biskupski Recognizes Business Leadership in Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Salt Lake City Buildings

Photos by Kyle Strayer

Today, Mayor Jackie Biskupski honored select Salt Lake City businesses, building owners, and managers with the 2017 Mayor’s Skyline Challenge Awards – an annual public recognition of organizations that have taken robust action in enhancing the energy performance of their buildings and contributing to the City’s air quality and general sustainability.

The award winners of the third annual event are: The Boston Building; Goldman Sachs Group; VCBO Architecture; XMission; Zions Bank; and Dominion Energy.

“The Skyline Challenge Awards is a high point in the year for the City and our Department of Sustainability, as it allows us to reflect on the energy efficiency work so many of our businesses are focused on,” said Mayor Biskupski. “We can look back at the previous year, as well, and point the progress that was made—new buildings that were benchmarked, money that was saved, and Energy Star scores that improved.”

Launched in May 2014, the Skyline Challenge encourages organizations across Salt Lake City and Utah to proactively improve the energy performance of their buildings and enhance their environmental and economic impact.

 

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Mayor Biskupski recognizes leadership in energy efficiency at the 2017 Skyline Challenge awards.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 30 percent of the average commercial building’s energy consumption is wasted through inefficient building operation.

By participating in the Skyline Challenge, local organizations are invited to attend educational workshops, and to receive guidance on best practices and resources for evaluating their building’s energy use. Skyline Challenge participants set energy savings goals and undertake energy efficiency projects, which they may then nominate for recognition at the annual Skyline Challenge Awards luncheon.

Without further adieu, here are the winners of the 2017 Mayor’s Skyline Challenge . . .  Continue reading →

Moving forward with a Comprehensive Sustainability Policy for Salt Lake City Corp

by Brooke Taylor

As our readers know, one of SLCgreen’s core goals is to help you adopt tips and practices to make your life more sustainable. Whether that’s reducing your contribution to air pollution, learning how to eat more local food, or understanding what to recycle, all of us have a role to play in making Salt Lake City a more sustainable place to live.

That goes for our own operations as well. One of the major areas of focus for SLCgreen (as the City’s Sustainability Department is known) is helping SLC Corporation adopt best practices when it comes to those same sustainability measures we ask of our community.

That’s why we’re delighted to share with you some elements of our new internal Sustainability Policy, signed in January 2017 by Mayor Biskupski.

Sustainability Collage

This policy affects Salt Lake City’s approximately 3,000 government employees, the community as a whole, our vendors, and the supply chains emanating from those vendors. By vowing to practice the best sustainable methods in all operations from prohibiting Styrofoam cups in break rooms, to carefully tracking our buildings’ energy usage, SLC is setting a community standard—a green standard.

We’d like to note that many of the guidelines in the Sustainability Policy were already in effect through various executive orders and policies, but this is the first time the best practices have been consolidated and turned into a comprehensive document.

If you’d like to read the whole policy, you can find it here.

Otherwise, read on for highlights . . . Continue reading →

The Urban Greens Market Returns July 10!

The Urban Greens Market is back for its second year!

by Terra Pace

The program which began in partnership with The Green Urban Lunchbox, Utahns Against Hunger, and Utah Community Action Program’s Real Food Rising has returned to provide fresh, affordable produce to the Glendale and Poplar Grove communities.

If you love local produce and supporting the local food system, make sure pay a visit to the Urban Greens Mobile Market and tell your friends!

Come Visit the Market

Beginning July 10th the mobile market will be open at these locations and times:

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What is the Urban Greens Market?

The Urban Greens Market was started in 2016 to help increase the availability of local and sustainable produce in low access areas of Salt Lake City. Community members in these areas struggle to find fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods as a result of a lack of or insufficient grocery stores and fresh food markets in their neighborhoods.

Last year, the five different sites within walking distance of low access neighborhoods hosted the Urban Greens Market and provided fresh produce to over 900 customers. Over 6,832 pounds of produce was sold and 69% of customers reported eating more fruits and vegetables after shopping at the market. Continue reading →

Saving Water Through Landscaping this Summer

by Lauren Victor

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In Utah, we are lucky enough to have access to water while living in the middle of a desert. With the climate changing and the Salt Lake City Valley population growing each year, the demand for water from our local Wasatch Mountains is increasing greatly. With the heat setting in quickly this summer, and with record highs predicted, one thing you can do to ease the pressure on the watershed is to conserve water through your landscape.

Conserving water does not mean your lifestyle needs to completely change, just take a look at the tips and links below to find out ways you can save water without losing the aesthetic of your garden!

Continue reading →

How to Improve Summertime Air Quality

Summer Ozone

Courtesy of www.ucair.org

Many of us associate bad air– yucky inversions and hazy gunk– with winter in the Salt Lake area. But did you know that we have bad air days in the summer too?

While it’s mostly invisible, ozone is just as harmful as particulate matter for the very young, very old, those with health conditions, and people who exercise outdoors.

Ozone is caused by emissions from vehicles, industry, and a multitude of chemical products which interact with sunlight and high temperatures.

So how can we reduce ozone?  Continue reading →

June 28: USGS to Present Research at Upcoming PCE Groundwater Plume Informational Meeting

Potential contamination from dry cleaning operations at the VA Hospital in the 1970s have led the EPA and Veterans Administration to study and seek remediation for a PCE groundwater plume on the east bench in Salt Lake City.  The plume is located generally within the area bounded by 500 South and Michigan Avenue and between Guardsman Way and 1100 East.

The next meeting to hear updates on the PCE groundwater plume remediation effort is coming up! This meeting will include a special presentation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on their analysis of the East Side Springs groundwater.

To read more about the history of this site, visit this page. To learn more about the current steps in the Superfund remediation process, click here.

What: Advocates for VA Groundwater Plume Resolution Meeting

When: Wednesday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, 500 Foothill Drive Building 9, Salt Lake City, UT  84148

PCE USGS Pic

USGS hydrologist Sue Thiros analyzes groundwater flow data.

Continue reading →

Salt Lake City Farmers Markets 2017

by Maggie McCormick

When you think of summer, what is the first thing you think of? Warm weather, long days, and fresh fruit and vegetables are a few that come to mind. This summer is no exception! We are excited about the many farmers markets that are opening this week here in Salt Lake City.

Some of these markets are familiar summer sights (the Downtown Farmers Market has been around since 1992!), while others are just getting started (welcome Liberty Park Market!)

beautiful-produce 9th West Market

Courtesy 9th West Farmers Market.

Opening June 7-11

Continue reading →

Salt Lake City Partners with the International Rescue Committee on the City’s first Urban Farm

New Roots participants work the soil and harvest greens on one of the IRC’s other farms.

You may remember our post last February, Salt Lake City Seeking Sustainable Farmers as part of the City’s initiative to provide more opportunities for local farmers to produce sustainable agriculture. Our goal with the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Urban Farming was to work with an area farmer or organization to convert a formerly-vacant 1.5-acre City plot into a productive oasis. In doing so, our aim was to strengthen the community, environment, and well-being of both farmers and nearby residents alike.

We’re thrilled to let you know that the International Rescue Committee was chosen!

The non-profit’s New Roots SLC program, which works with experienced refugee farmers, will transform the currently unused space adjacent to the Sorenson Unity Center into an organic, sustainable, and diversified vegetable farm.

The non-profit currently provides land, technical assistance, and market access for over 30 refugee farmers at other locations around the valley.

We’re pretty excited about this partnership. Here’s a bit more about how New Roots works . . .

Continue reading →