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Alpine Bank Becomes First Business to Go ‘Carbon Neutral Through Canary Tag Program
The Aspen branch of Alpine Bank has chosen to purchase Canary Tags to offset its carbon emissions – a first in the Aspen community. The branch purchased 128.2 tags, offsetting 128.2 tons of CO2, and is currently the only business to go “carbon neutral” through the city of Aspen’s Canary Tag program.
Canary Tags are the first municipal carbon offset program in the United States. Each tag costs $20 and represents an offset of one ton of CO2 through renewable energy and carbon mitigation programs.
“Alpine Bank has been working hard to reduce the company’s overall environmental footprint, and we are happy they were able to use our local program to make a difference,” said Kim Peterson, director of the Canary Initiative.
The Alpine Bank Aspen Branch calculated its 2007 “carbon footprint” in order to determine how many tags to purchase. Alpine Bank as a company has committed to environmental leadership. The bank has goals to reduce energy and paper use by 20 percent by 2012, as well as water consumption by 10 percent and courier fleet fuel consumption by 25 percent.
“We believe Alpine Bank’s substantial commitment and our ongoing passion for resource efficient banks can set an example for action and stewardship within our communities,” said Pete Yang, vice president of Alpine Bank Aspen. “Although all Alpine Banks are in the process of contracting for 100 percent green electricity by the end of the year, only the Aspen location has offset its natural gas emissions as well.”
Alpine Bank was also recently awarded “Gold Leader” by the State of Colorado for its environmental management systems. They are the first financial institution in the state to attain this recognition.
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