With an eye on fulfilling its promise to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, Denver has released new environmental best practices for indoor cannabis cultivators.

Through a Denver Department of Environmental Health cannabis sustainability working group, the city released the environmental guide for energy and water use reduction, waste minimization and pest control for the metro Denver cannabis cultivation industry.

The guide offers a picture of the industry’s impact on the local environment and advice on reducing that impact.

“Commercial buildings represent 35 percent of citywide emissions, and as cannabis businesses occupy an increasing amount of commercial building space, the industry plays an important role in helping the community meet its emissions targets,” the guide notes.

Denver is currently home to more than 591 active cultivation licenses, operating out of 295 locations.

To reduce its environmental footprint, the guide makes recommendations including using carbon filtration rather than reverse osmosis for solid waste minimization, water use optimization and energy efficiency; selecting packaging that is made from recycled material and is recyclable and/or compostable; combining heat and power systems, which can reduce emissions by 25 to 45 percent and serve as reliable source of power during outages; and incorporating water recapture and reuse into existing cultivation processes among other best practices.

Denver’s climate plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, setting lofty goals like a move to all clean, renewable energy by 2030 and requiring new buildings follow “net-zero” standards.

The guide was released ahead of the Cannabis Sustainability Symposium held Tuesday and Wednesday this week in downtown Denver. The event provides education on tools, techniques and technologies for efficient and safe cannabis production.