Denver's Office of Climate Action Releases 2023 Annual Report

Published on June 28, 2024

Group of city staff and contractor smile in front of a completed rooftop solar garden in Denver

In Denver, we know that the climate crisis is solvable. Together, we are the ones to solve it.  

We are pleased to share the 2023 Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR) annual report(PDF, 36MB). This report provides an in-depth analysis of our activities, achievements, and the overall impact of our work over the last three years. While CASR’s annual reports typically look back at only one year of progress, this year, we decided to look back at our progress since CASR was established in 2020.  

Read CASR's 2023 Annual Report(PDF, 36MB)

Denver is reducing pollution and helping communities thrive as the city’s climate gets hotter and drier. This work is made possible through the Climate Protection Fund. CASR allocates over half of the funding on communities that disproportionately feel the impacts of the climate crisis.  

Key findings from the 2023 report(PDF, 36MB) include: 

  • From 2021 to 2023, Denver cut its yearly greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to taking nearly 80,000 gas-powered cars off the roads for a year.
  • We are installing solar panels across the city, ensuring more people benefit from a clean and plentiful energy source. There are now 16 new solar arrays at recreation centers, schools, nonprofits, the airport, and The National Western Center. 
  • In 2022 and 2023 the Certifiably Green Denver Equity program gave funds to 78 minority- and women-owned small businesses. These businesses used the money for a broad range of sustainability upgrades that reduce energy, waste, and water use. 
  • In the last year, the city created over 400 green career pathways that are training the workforce that will support our sustainable future. They’re preparing for jobs as electricians and solar panel installers and will be building Denver’s clean energy economy locally.
  • Promotoras Climácticas who serve as neighborhood navigators have connected with more than 100,000 Denverites, engaging them in climate actions like composting education and energy efficiency upgrades. 
  • Denver was ranked #2 nationally for city climate policies thanks to our work making buildings healthier and more efficient.
    • One of five buildings already meet the city’s 2030 Energize Denver goals.
    • Early results have shown that Denver’s large buildings are using less energy per square foot since 2021, adding value for Denver’s buildings while cutting the pollution equivalent of more than 58,000 cars on the road for a year.
  • We worked with neighborhood groups to plant over 1,000 trees over the last two years. This work expands our urban tree canopy across Denver neighborhoods with the lowest tree cover. These trees will create shade and reduce the heat island effect in Denver’s hottest neighborhoods. The program recently won a $5 million grant, which will triple the size of this effort. 

For individual residents, there’s so much you can do to green your everyday activities, including:

At Home

Cool and heat for less: Plan ahead to replace aging AC or furnace equipment in your house, commercial or multifamily building—heat pump rebates make it cheaper and easier to install a money-saving, energy-efficient heat pump.

Peak performance: If your home AC, furnace or hot water heater are more than ten years old, get a home energy audit from Xcel Energy to find out if they’re as efficient as they should be. 

Let the sun shine in: Compare solar quotes through EnergySage or join a group buy to save thousands on installing rooftop solar through Solar Switch Denver. Even if rooftop solar won’t work for you, subscribing to a community solar project is an alternative way to buy local solar energy for your household or small business.

Strike a balance: Ensure there’s plenty of power for all of us with technologies and programs that balance electricity demand. Denver Home Energy Rebates help you save on battery storage equipment, electric vehicle chargers, electric service upgrades and more. Xcel Energy offers programs like AC Rewards to automatically adjust your home cooling system, and Optimize Your Charge for big savings on off-peak electric vehicle charging.

Plant a tree: To help shade your home—and provide a home for birds and other wildlife—get an affordable tree that will thrive in our climate from Denver Digs Trees.

Grow the right garden: Celebrate the Rocky Mountain landscape we love by making smart choices in your garden. Plant Select, from the Denver Botanic Gardens and Colorado State University, and ColoradoScaping, from Denver Water, helps you find beautiful plants suited to our local ecosystem.

Harvest rainwater: Treat water on your landscapes as a precious resource by getting a rain barrel, redirecting downspouts that leak onto hard surfaces, or installing a rain garden.

Eat more plants: A plant-based diet reduces carbon pollution, saves water, preserves nature and is healthier.

In the Community

Ride clean: Choose to walk, take public transit, or bike to your destination. Get an e-bike rebate voucher from Denver to save money upfront when buying an e-bike or e-cargo bike. With zero emissions and maximum fun, they’re a great way to zip around town, get to work or school and even haul cargo.

Swap your shopping bag: Trade in your single-use plastic bags for a reusable bag. All bags collected at Plastic Bag Swaps are recycled into benches, rails, decks and other outdoor furniture.

Raise a glass: If you’re planning a public event, leave disposable cups off your shopping list. Reusable Cups at Events can help pay for organizations that deliver and pick up reusable cups and collection bins.

Learn new skills: Explore training, apprenticeship and career-switching opportunities that can connect you with great jobs in fast-growing industries, offered by CPF-supported Green Workforce Development programs. 

Support a Certifiably Green Denver small business: These businesses go above and beyond with their commitment to sustainability. Look out for the Certifiably Green Denver logo when you shop, dine, or travel.

There are a number of programs to help organizations switch to sustainable practices and advancing green projects, including:

Commercial Building Owners, Contractors, Schools, Nonprofits and Businesses

Dish out an upgrade: If you run a retail food business, apply to the groundbreaking Reuse Denver program that helps you replace disposable plates, cups and cutlery with reusable service ware.

Get green to build better: If you're building or remodeling a house, multifamily property or commercial building, head to the Zero Emissions Hub to learn about how to lower your emissions and your energy bills. Xcel also offers business energy audits to find opportunities for energy and cost savings.

Build climate leaders: Students or teachers can apply for Climate Champions grants to develop projects engaging students around climate and sustainability topics. 

Green your business: Community organizations and small minority- and women-owned businesses can apply for Certifiably Green Denver Equity Funding to cover the costs of a broad range of sustainability improvements related to energy efficiency, waste diversion, sustainable mobility and water conservation. 

Go solar: Nonprofits can receive support to decarbonize their organizations by requesting funding through the Renewables and Resilience Incentive Program, which covers up to 100% of the cost to install solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicle chargers.

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