Cannabis Sustainability

Photo of a business sign that reads Cannabis Shop & shows cannabis plant

closeup photo of marijuana leaves

Denver strives for all businesses to operate as sustainably as possible. We work to research and share best practices in the cannabis industry to reduce their climate and environmental impact and partner to advance programs and policy.

Cannabis Sustainability Working Group

The Cannabis Sustainability Work Group mission is to promote sustainability in the cannabis industry through education, the development and dissemination of best practices, and the facilitation of dialogue between the cannabis industry, the community, and technical experts.

Members of the workgroup represent a variety of stakeholders, including cannabis business owners, consultants and contractors, government, and sustainability and policy experts. Each member of the Work Group participates in one of four committees: Events & Outreach, Best Management Practices & Data, Policy, Symposium, Commercialization, Language & Literacy.  

2020 Work Group Members:

  • Sue Aberle, The Health Center
  • Andrew Alfred, LivWell Enlightened Health
  • Tyler Ammerman, Gannett Fleming Project Development Corp.
  • Amy Andrle, L'Eagle
  • Dan Banks, Lightshade
  • Andrew Bennett, Energy Outreach Colorado
  • Bia Campbell, Denver Office of Marijuana Policy
  • Karuna Chourey, Growcentia
  • Meg Collins, Good Chemistry
  • Courtney Cotton, Denver Recycles- City & County of Denver
  • Anne Marie Doyle, Nuvolution
  • Catherine Drumheller, Oak Services, LLC
  • Sandra Elkind, STO Respoinsible
  • Ben Gelt, Cannabis Certification Council
  • Laura Getts, Pueblo
  • Fran Gindi, Ajoya
  • Tiffany Goldman, The Health Center
  • Josh Holleb, Ceres Greenhouses
  • Neil Kolwey, SWEEP
  • Nikki Kujawski, Stillwater Brands
  • Penny Komes, Terrapin Station
  • Matt Lindsey, Charlotte’s Web
  • Andrew Livingston, Vicente Sederberg, LLC
  • Emily Long, Byers Scientific
  • Josh Malman, JushiCo
  • Jared Marchand, REG
  • Jarrod Mason, YouWho/Cannabis Certification Council
  • Leslie McAhren, University of Colorado
  • Joe Megyesy, Good Chemistry
  • Becky Migas, B Green Events
  • Jake Mitchell, Sustainabis
  • Sheilah Ophaug, Allay Consulting
  • Jacob Policzer, The Cannabis Conservancy
  • Samantha Reifer, Scale Microgrid Solutions
  • Susan Renaud, Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency
  • Brandon Rhea, Native Roots
  • Lucy Rose, YouWho/Cannabis Certification Council
  • Marc Ross, Needle Consultants, LLC
  • Derek Smith, RII
  • Kim Stuck, Allay Consulting
  • Joe Sullivan, Cultivate EO
  • Ambra Sutherlin, Boulder County
  • Kaitlin Urso, CDPHE

Current Best Practices

View the Cannabis Environmental Best Management Practices Guide (Updated October 2021) here.

Cannabis Environmental Best Management Practices Guide(PDF, 3MB) 

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The Cannabis Sustainability Work Group released the Cannabis Environmental Best Management Practices Guide to provide cannabis cultivation businesses with a snapshot of relevant sustainable practices and a starting point for process optimization techniques that facilitate continual improvement. The Guide was written with input from sustainability experts and numerous stakeholders in the cannabis industry. If you have questions, or would like to contribute to future updates to the Guide, please email Cannabis Sustainability Working Group Chair Ben Gelt at ben@bengelt.com.

Business Sustainability Assistance

Certifiably Green Denver provides free, confidential, non-regulatory environmental assistance to Denver’s business community. Staff are dedicated to providing tailored advising to all types of businesses, including marijuana.

Meetings

The Cannabis Sustainability Work Group holds public meetings bi-monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month.

Upcoming 2021 Meetings:

  • May 27th
  • July 22nd
  • September 23rd
  • November 25th

2021 Meeting Minutes:

2019 Meeting Minutes:

2018 Meeting Minutes:

For copies of minutes from meetings prior to what is shown here, please email cannabissustainability@denvergov.org.