August 2023

We Are Hiring

Lotus is hiring a Sustainability Strategy Modeling Associate. The review of materials is ongoing and will continue until the position is filled. Please apply early. We strongly encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds to apply.

Job Description

Lotus is committed to providing its team with a work experience that compliments and supports the lives that employees want to live. We pride ourselves in supporting hybrid and remote work; providing essential benefits such as healthcare, a wellness stipend, parental leave, and 401(k); 30 hours of paid volunteer or board time; an annual matched donation to charity; and unlimited paid time off recognizing the value of time away from work for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits.

EPA FLIGHT Facilities from 2010-2021

For many greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting practitioners, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) is a valuable source for finding specific data from large GHG emission sources. Codified into law more than 10 years ago, the GHGRP requires entities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of stationary CO2e to report those emissions and sources. This includes industry, oil & gas, power sector, landfills, and many more to provide detailed data to be publicly available. Further, these data are searchable within EPA’s Envirofacts and FLIGHT tools. While both tools allow for geographic and sector searches, Lotus has compiled FLIGHT data from each year of reporting to visualize trends across the country.

Visualization of complex data is a valuable way to reach and engage more communities and provide defensible decision-making. If you are a data visualization expert, make sure to apply for the job above! If your community would like to explore more ways to visualize data in pursuit of sustainability and climate action, you can contact Lotus at hello@lotussustainability.com.

Lotus is a Part of the Colorado Green Business Network

The Colorado Green Business Network (CGBN) within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has recognized Lotus as a Silver CGBN Certified business! It’s important for us to demonstrate to our clients that we are just like them, working to take action for the climate. We are so excited to continue improving on our sustainability goals and to support the vast network of enthusiastic businesses.

Project Highlights

Xero Shoes

Xero Shoes creates a variety of shoe styles that embody the natural feeling of running barefoot. As part of the Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) Product Standards Climate and Environmental Stewardship Valuation, Xero Shoes has committed to measuring its carbon footprint and reducing its carbon emissions in alignment with the recommendations of the United Nations (UN) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To help Xero Shoes accomplish this, Lotus completed the company’s 2021 and 2022 operational greenhouse gas inventories, the results of which were shared with REI. In completing both inventories, Lotus followed REI’s requirements using the GHG Protocol and including emissions from scopes 1, 2, and 3. For the 2022 inventory, Lotus helped Xero Shoes translate the energy-use data from their secondary office in Prague, Czech Republic, as well as evaluate the emissions from the addition of a new, larger warehouse in Denver. Lotus also created inventory management plans for both inventories.
Read more about Xero Shoes’ sustainability efforts here.

Summit County Climate Equity Plan

Since completing the County’s Climate Action Plan, the jurisdictions in Summit County embarked on implementation work. Lotus worked with the High Country Conservation Center to update the County’s GHG inventory with 2021 data and develop a climate equity plan that will specifically detail projects and programs to enhance equity in the community through the implementation of climate action work.
Learn more about Lotus’s work in Summit County here.

City and County of Denver

Lotus worked with Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR) to develop an equity-centered stakeholder facilitation and engagement process. This project convened members of the small Equity Priority Building (EPB) community to inform them about the type of services and incentives CASR offers to meet the Energize Denver requirements. Lotus reviewed previous EPB listening sessions, hosted several additional EPB community listening sessions, and conducted informational interviews with building owners, managers, and tenants. At the culmination of these conversations, Lotus produced a report sharing our findings and analysis to support CASR’s Energize Denver goals.
Additionally, Lotus completes Denver’s community and municipal GHG inventories annually. We recently submitted Denver’s CDP response.
For more information about all of our work the with City and County of Denver, click here.

Colorado Energy Code Board

Lotus contracted with the Colorado Energy Office to facilitate an Energy Code Board that created the State’s Model Electric and Solar Ready code. House Bill 22-1662 required the Energy Office to convene the Energy Code Board with diverse representatives from across the state to develop a new state minimum code in conjunction with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code.
Read more about the process here and check out an article by Colorado Public Radio News about the impacts of the code here.

CEO Energy Code Adoption & Enforcement Grant Program

To support communities in the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of updated building energy codes, the Colorado Energy Office has launched the Energy Code Adoption & Enforcement Grant Program. Local governments, local government partnerships, and government councils (or nonprofits applying on behalf of local governments) are eligible to apply. More funding is available for local government partnerships and match requirements are reduced for smaller jurisdictions.

If you are considering applying for this grant, we would love to work with you! Lotus has extensive experience in supporting local governments with energy code updates. Some of our work includes the facilitation of regional code cohorts, which could be a tactic to both maximize grant program funding and encourage regional collaboration. Code cohorts are effective in establishing consistency in codes within the region, pooling resources and expertise, and helping communities take a unified approach to curbing local GHG emissions. Lotus can assist you in ensuring building code updates that both meet state requirements and incorporate the needs of your community. Recent cohort projects we’ve worked on include the Boulder County Net Zero Codes Cohort and the Eagle County Code Cohort.

Please reach out to us for more information on how you can take advantage of CEO funding and/or how we can partner with you in your code update process.