City seeks EPA certification with local business help

Despite the frequent rotation of storefronts in College Park, business support may be the key to the city's next environmental push.

After investing in more sustainable forms of energy, College Park achieved carbon neutrality — meaning it offset all of its electricity usage by purchasing renewable energy credits used to create wind power in other areas — and now hopes to become an Environmental Protection Agency-designated Green Power Community. Although city officials said the effort would require cooperation from scores of local business owners — including those that have only opened shop in recent months — some business owners said they have not seen the city prioritize green initiatives.

Bagel Place owner Bobby Karanovich said he has not noticed any evidence of a greener city. Instead, he encourages city officials to be more environmentally conscious themselves.

"I've been getting on [city officials] about recycling," Karanovich said. "I haven't seen anything out of them."

But many city officials, such as District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn, said the city set its sights on balancing out its carbon emissions several years ago, and achieving this goal is a major accomplishment.

"It's a pretty significant milestone for our city to be able to do that," Wojahn said, adding that the benefits of buying green power extend far beyond College Park. "When we purchase wind energy in another location, it benefits the environment as a whole."

To achieve the Green Power Community status, the city is now encouraging storeowners and residents to purchase green power that would meet or exceed the EPA's minimum purchase requirement. These renewable energy credits are then used to produce wind power in rural areas.

"Anything that resident and business owners can do, whether it's switching to more energy-efficient appliances, switching to LED lights, using more public transportation ... All of those things we can do to become a greener city," Wojahn said.

The city is currently developing a specific plan to achieve Green Power Community certification, Wojahn said, to continue its efforts toward becoming a more sustainable community. In order to carry out the goals listed in the plan, green power would slash businesses' utility bills, give them a competitive advantage over other businesses and foster better health due to decreased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to the city's website.

But Karanovich said many of these sustainability efforts are costly, and he has found it hard to justify spending additional money for alleged environmentally friendly materials, noting that his business uses energy-cooling lights, and that "everything eco-friendly would help... as long as it's available."

"When you go into paper products, it's very costly and it hasn't been proven that it's eco-friendly," he said. "They've actually been proven dirtier to produce."

Several students, such as freshman materials engineering major Taylor Morris, said they would like the city to adopt similar green initiatives as those launched on the campus.

"My attitude is, if the services are there to be eco-friendly, I'll use them," he said. "It doesn't appear to be a very eco-friendly city."

foley@umdbk.com