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CU Boulder's Zero Waste Initiative: A Pledge for Climate Action through Regenerative Agriculture

Picture of subway employee Tim

With confirmations that 2023 was the hottest year on record, your support is needed to take a proactive approach to addressing climate change through regenerative agriculture and building healthy soils. The University of Colorado Boulder is making significant strides in sustainability with its Spring Zero Foodprint pilot, a commitment that extends beyond the campus borders and into the Colorado community. In collaboration with Zero Foodprint, CU Boulder's effort to organize business owners and the CU community is helping build healthy soils across Colorado, focusing on regenerative agriculture projects and climate action.

The Zero Foodprint Pledge:
One of the core elements of CU Boulder's Spring Zero Foodprint pilot, is the pledge taken by third-party vendors to contribute 1% of sales towards supporting build the Restore Colorado grant. This often amounts to cents out of your total bill! This 1% addition is designed to mitigate the climate impacts of businesses and people, as well as showcase a steadfast dedication to climate action and the regenerative agriculture movement.  Funds collected from the participating businesses are directed into a pool used to provide grants to local farmers and ranchers. This financial support not only aids in sustainable agricultural practices but also acts as crucial matching dollars to unlock additional funds from philanthropic donors, corporate sponsors, and government grants. To date, the collective action of the Zero Foodprint community associated with Colorado has resulted in the deployment of $323,336 to 30 farms. This financial support is expected to sequester over 42,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, which is the same as 13,000 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled. This remarkable impact underscores the effectiveness of collaborative efforts in addressing climate change through regenerative agriculture.

Tim Schiel at the UMC Subway has been participating in the Zero Foodprint program since 2021 and is setting an example for other business owners on campus.

CU Boulder encourages its business community to sign up for the Zero Foodprint Spring Pilot program. Participants in the program practice transparent financial transactions. When contributing to the cause, businesses explicitly name "Zero Foodprint" or “Restore Colorado” in their storefront and receipts. This ensures that anyone interested in learning more can easily find information about the Zero Foodprint program. Moreover, it’s important to note that these contributions are voluntary and not a tax- if you don’t want to contribute financially to Zero Foodprint, you can always opt-out! 

By actively engaging the CU community into the Zero Foodprint efforts and fostering transparency in financial transactions, we as the CU Boulder community can make significant strides in achieving a sustainable and climate-friendly future. Through ongoing commitments and collaborative efforts, the CU Boulder community members and businesses can set an example for how people can join together to make a positive impact on the environment. 

Do you support this initiative? If so, please sign our letter of support here to let your favorite on-campus business know you want to see them participate in the Spring Zero Foodprint pilot! 

Questions? Please reach out to ecenter@colorado.edu