Catalysts of Change: Adams County’s Sustainability and Innovative Enterprise
The Gamechangers Awards, presented by the Adams County Regional Economic Partnership (AC-REP), shine a spotlight on businesses driving innovation and sustainability within the Greater Adams County region.
“AC-REP is proud to showcase the remarkable businesses and organizations that have made significant, transformative impacts in our region,” says Lisa Hough, president and CEO of AC-REP. “These advancements, whether through groundbreaking innovations, emerging industries or notable development projects, contribute to meaningful economic shifts, fostering growth, enhancing competitiveness and creating abundant opportunities for both businesses and individuals in Adams County.”
Approximately 10,000 companies and over 500,000 residents encompass the region, and AC-REP works to ensure the future of the community as a leading voice in Colorado for Adams County.
In This Article
Sustainable Shopping
In 2024, Denver Premium Outlets in Thornton was named a Gamechangers Award winner for sustainability.
At Denver Premium Outlets, a shopping trip for big deals on major brands can also mean enjoying wildflowers and butterflies in one of the center’s three Butterfly Pavilion pollinator gardens or tracking down clues to qualify for a gift card in the Sustainability Scavenger Hunt.
“We want to be a community partner, and we want to be a leader in sustainability and show our practices and hopefully help inspire other businesses and our guests and our tenants to have some sustainable practices within their business,” says Wendy Manning, director of marketing and business development for Denver Premium Outlets.
The LEED-certified shopping center, which opened in 2018, is also home to zero-carbon pavers made from blue-green algae by Prometheus Materials/ The center also is partnering with Smart Commute and the City of Thorton to launch an e-bike mobility station this summer. The project will feature e-bike rentals, a charging station and bike lockers.
Elevated Recycling
A 2023 Gamechanger Award winner, Vartega produces recycled carbon fiber and composite materials for industrial and consumer products. Vartega operates its headquarters and manufacturing facility from Pecos Logistics Park in Adams County, where it expanded its operations with a new 50,000-square-foot facility.
“We’re all about keeping these advanced materials like carbon fiber out of the landfill,” Vartega CEO Andrew Maxey says in a Gamechanger video interview.
Recycled carbon fiber delivers the same mechanical performance as carbon fiber made from new materials, but at about half the cost, he explains. The company’s facility in Adams County has positioned it to meet current needs as well as plan for future growth in Colorado and across the world.
“It’s exciting to know that people recognize the value that we can bring to this community by keeping advanced materials out of the landfill,” Maxey says.
Bright Ideas
Other 2024 AC-REP Gamechangers include United Power, an 85-year-old rural electric cooperative headquartered in Brighton that provides safe, reliable, low-cost electricity for 350,000 members, many of them in Adams County.
“Clearly, Adams County is really the center of where we exist,” President and CEO Mark Gabriel says in a video interview. “Being here is critical, especially to support the growth occurring in Adams County.”
United Power has reduced its carbon intensity by 26% and has a growing business in solar and renewable power sources.
“United Power is proud to support all those folks that want a different, clean energy future,” Gabriel says. “The future here in Adams County is very bright.”
Hough echoes that statement, emphasizing the momentum of companies that are looking to expand their cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions in Adams County.
“As a county with a majority-minority population and a low median age, Adams County is positioned as an excellent location to develop the workforce of the future,” she says. “These trends indicate a dynamic and forward-thinking approach within Adams County, positioning it as a hub for innovation, sustainability and inclusive growth.”
Full Circle
Organization closes process gaps to minimize waste and boost Colorado businesses
The CEO and founder of Circular Colorado was motivated by a simple but powerful impulse when she launched the initiative several years ago.
“We are out here to operationalize and get things done,” says Laurie Johnson, who also serves as director of the Circular Economy Development Center, a program Circular Colorado was contracted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to create and run. “We really are the boots on the ground to connect the dots between large corporations and manufacturers and the ecosystem.”
The Adams County region is home to innovative businesses that work directly with Circular Colorado to find new ways to reuse resources to maximize their value and minimize their impact on the environment. Among those area businesses is Pretred, an Aurora-based company that makes construction and traffic barriers out of waste tires.
The Colorado Circular Communities Enterprise recently awarded a multi-year $11.2 million grant to Pretred to expand its operations to process waste tires into crumb rubber – the main ingredient in traffic barriers made from recycled tires.
When they began evaluating the opportunity and investigated Pretred’s practices, Johnson says, they found Pretred was importing crumb rubber from out of state, despite the fact that Colorado has plenty of waste tires that could become the raw material for their products.
“But there was no crumb rubber facility here, so we put together a project to create a crumb rubber facility in the region,” Johnson says.
The project is a great example of the work Circular Colorado does to support manufacturers as they build circular economies and grow their businesses at the same time. Pretred’s expansion is expected to turn 4 million waste tires from across Colorado into 30,000 barriers each year.
“Our long-term goal is to create a circular industrial campus model where we bring all this collaboration to one space,” Johnson says.
Get to Know Adams County
Want to learn more about living and working in Adams County, CO? Check out the latest edition of Livability Adams County, Colorado.