Colorado Consumer Coalition

Challenge

Novitas was hired by one company in the beer industry to help support an opposition effort to fight a bill in the Colorado Legislature proposed to create an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for recycling in Colorado. As part of that effort, Novitas created the Colorado Consumer Coalition, to give cover to our clients who do not oppose recycling or sustainability efforts, but oppose this policy solution for the challenge we face.

About

The Colorado Consumer Coalition is made up of businesses, trade associations, and individuals who are dedicated to promoting solutions in public policy that help consumers. They advocate for common sense policies. They strive to find solutions. Instead of forcing businesses to pay into an extra-governmental EPR program, they believe Colorado consumers should be educated on how to increase their own sustainable habits. This will save them money at the grocery store and lower taxes on businesses, which would pass those additional costs on to consumers.

Solution

Novitas Communications developed media and communications strategies around fighting the bill when introduced, helped support lobbying efforts through letters to the editor and OpEds in statewide publications, and created social media posts and advertising, with messages opposing this policy solution.

In order to give cover to our clients, who do not oppose recycling or sustainability efforts, a bit of cover, and to show that this solution is simply bad policy for all Colorado consumers, Novitas created the Colorado Consumer Coalition.

Results

The bill did pass, however, and as part of ongoing support in preparation for a second-round fight that will happen in 2024 (the program has to pass a vote of the Joint Budget Committee), Novitas has continued to engage on social media as the Coalition, and has participated in all Advisory Board meetings for the new Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) that was formed to carry out the program. As such, Novitas has continued to give cover to our clients, as well as expanded the membership of the Coalition across multiple industries.

Following the 2022 legislative session where EPR was passed and signed by the governor, Novitas was challenged to maintain a flow of opposition to the policy in advance of the program’s final step: approval by the Joint Budget Committee in March of 2024. During this time, we were to maintain the privacy of our Coalition members, using the Coalition itself as cover for their positions on the recycling program.

The Coalition has consistently had high engagement on social media platforms, direct feedback from the staff of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regarding our comments to the public meetings of the Advisory Board, and engagement with other recycling experts in the field.