Painting the workplace green – Energy-efficient practices help Colo. firms save cash

Matt Gallo, chief engineer at the Denver Place office complex, examines a 138-watt, high-pressure sodium bulb removed from the gray lighting units behind him. Changing the 860 parking-garage fixtures to those using 65-watt fluorescent bulbs will save about $47,000 a year. (Post / Jerry Cleveland)

Every day is casual-dress day at New Belgium Brewing Co., where employees with titles such as "vibe writer" and "sustainability goddess" are encouraged to ride bicycles to work.

Yet behind the Fort Collins brewery’s neo-hippie veneer is a sophisticated and aggressive campaign to save energy and supplement the profits from selling beer.

With concepts as simple as skylights and shady eaves to as advanced as electricity generation from brewing waste, New Belgium uses 40 percent less energy than the average American brewer to produce a barrel of beer.

New Belgium is on the vanguard as it looks for ways to fight record-high energy prices with conservation and efficiency.

By Steve Raabe
Denver Post Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_2765037