Frisco Sustainability Initiatives

The Town of Frisco has long shown thoughtfulness around sustainability issues and expressed this through efforts such as zero waste events, solar on Town buildings, the purchase of hybrid town vehicles and more.

In their 2019-2020 Strategic Plan, Frisco Town Council committed to doing even more to collaboratively protect and sustain our treasured environment by ensuring that new development achieves a balance between the natural and built environment and implementing initiatives to address climate change.

Initiatives & Actions Supporting a Sustainable Environment

Summit Climate Action Plan

In April 2019, Frisco Town Council adopted the 2019 Summit Community Climate Action Plan through a resolution. The Plan is the product of the Summit Climate Action Collaborative, a group of communities, businesses and organizations who funded and provided input on the plan. In addition to allowing Frisco to help fulfill its own sustainability goals, the Climate Action Plan project was intended to help the Town meet its Compact for Colorado Communities commitments, which Frisco signed on to in September 2017.

The plan outlines four key priorities:

• Renewable electricity: Achieve 100% renewable electricity countywide by 2035.
• Transportation: Reduce the use of single-occupancy vehicles, transition to electricity in transportation vehicles, and increase public transportation, biking and walking
• Energy efficiency: Amend building and land-use codes to improve efficiency
• Solar energy: Implement Solarize Summit County to streamline solar permitting process.

The Plan sets overall goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Summit County by 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

100% Renewable

In May 2019, the Town of Frisco joined 10 other Colorado communities in committing to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035, through a resolution. This was in support of one of the goals outlined in the 2019 Summit Community Climate Action Plan. 

Transportation & Vehicle Charging Stations

In an ongoing effort to transition to and encourage electric vehicles, the Town of Frisco unveiled a new two-port electric vehicle charging station on 3rd Avenue between Main Street and Granite Street. Frisco was awarded a grant from Charge Ahead Colorado to install the multi-port station. The station is available free of charge and is “on the map” on charging station location apps like Charge Point and Plug Share.

Single Use Bags

In August 2019, a .25 per bag fee ordinance on both paper and plastic disposable bags was passed by the Frisco Town Council, recognizing that the use of all disposable shopping bags, both plastic and paper, has significant environmental impacts on a local and global scale, including impacts greenhouse gas emissions, litter, harm to wildlife, water consumption and solid waste generation. Despite recycling and voluntary efforts to control pollution from disposable bags, relatively few disposable bags are recycled. Plastic bags last for decades in landfill, or end up as litter.

The disposable bag fee program begins January 1, 2020, and reporting and fee submission will be required on a quarterly basis.