Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! In fact, your business may already qualify. You can get credit for existing practices, as well as newly adopted ones implemented to meet the SAGE Certification requirements.

No. Although you must complete the required "core" measures in the General, Energy, Waste, Transportation, and Water categories and one measure in the Community category. You only need to complete at least three "elective" measures in any of the categories. The certification checklist is intended to give businesses flexibility in their approach to becoming certified.

There are a couple of reasons why a measure could be not applicable (N/A) to your business. If you do not use, possess, or have control over a piece of equipment or policy in your building (perhaps because you do not own your facility), that measure would be considered N/A.

Once your business is certified, it will always be certified as long as you maintain and keep up the measures you committed to. SAGE advisors may conduct site visits to certified businesses to ensure measures are maintained. However, the SAGE Certification may evolve over time. Possible changes include multiple tiers of certification or the introduction of a certification specifically for resource tracking and management. SAGE reserves the right to revoke certifications if businesses are not in compliance with city codes, laws, regulations and/or the measures they have completed.

No! SAGE Certification is a free service provided by the city for all businesses.

SAGE is designed to apply to businesses located in non-residential spaces. At this time, home-based businesses do not qualify for certification. However, the city offers sustainability assistance and services to residents, see our resources page.

The amount of time required to complete the certification process varies depending on the complexity of your business and the practices you already have in place. To receive certification, all businesses register and complete the Green Business Tracker (GBT) assessment, a tool to help you collect information that will be used to measure your environmental performance and list the minimum requirements for earning certification.

Email the SAGE Department or call 303-658-2662 to set up an advising session, get your questions answered, and to provide comments.