Cleaner Commute Philadelphia
Clean Air Commute Awards
In 2014, Clean Air Council launched the Clean Air Commute Awards to highlight the efforts of Philadelphia-area commuters and employers who go the extra mile for sustainable commuting. Clean Air Council Presents: the Clean Air Commute Employer and the Clean Air Commuter.
Clean Air Commute Employer Award
The Clean Air Commute Employer award recognizes a company that does the most to support their employees in getting to work without driving alone. Examples of Clean Air Commute Employer actions include installing indoor bike racks, providing RideECO transit benefits, offering telecommuting options, and providing shuttles between public transportation and the office. In addition to recognition at the Run for Clean Air, the Clean Air Commute Employer gets a free team entry to the Run for Clean Air and regional advertising announcing their win.
2020 Nominations for Clean Air Commute Employer Award are now open.
Clean Air Commute Award nominations are closed.
Questions or concerns? Contact Kamali Alloway, Sustainable Transportation Outreach Coordinator, at 215-567-4004 ext. 131 or kalloway@cleanair.org.
Clean Air Commuter of the Year
The Clean Air Commuter of the Year is an individual who shows the most commitment to getting to work sustainably. Clean Air Commuters include avid SEPTA users, bicyclists who brave ice and snow, carpool conductors, and employees who advocate for their companies to become Clean Air Commute Employers. In addition to recognition at the Run for Clean Air and a free entry to the Run, the Clean Air Commuter receives a prize tailored to their commute — a $150 gift certificate to a local bike shop, a SEPTA TrailPass, or a green car detailing.
2020 Nominations for Clean Air Commuter of the Year are now open.
Nominate yourself or someone else online with our easy web form. Nominations close on March 15, 2020.
Questions or concerns? Contact Kamali Alloway, Sustainable Transportation Outreach Coordinator, at 215-567-4004 ext. 131 or kalloway@cleanair.org.
2019 Clean Air Commute Award Winners
2019 Clean Air Employer Winner- Bicycle Transit Systems
The Clean Commute Employer of the Year for 2019 is Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS), the operations company for Indego, Philadelphia’s bike share system. As a public transportation operator, BTS walks the walk and offers a slew of benefits to all of their employees, especially cyclists. Cyclists who work at BTS enjoy showers, secure bike parking, bike maintenance support, and free bike share memberships for all employees. Any employee who chooses a sustainable commute is also eligible for an office prize raffle as an incentive. Outside of having a great commuting culture, Bicycle Transit Systems often partners with Clean Air Council to promote sustainable commuting to the public.
2018 Clean Air Commuter Winners- Patrick Lee and Anneke Ransijn
Patrick Lee cycles to work no matter the weather and is truly deserving of the Clean Commuter of the Year Award. Not only is Patrick a dedicated bike commuter himself, but he also advocated within his company to support fellow cyclists. Patrick successfully worked with the human resources department at his office to organize a group ride on Bike to Work Day, selected a bike theme for Parking Day, put together a bike toolbox to have on hand, and compiled useful information about biking in a packet for new hires. This work goes a long way to helping others adopt a sustainable commute.
Anneke Ransijn is a dedicated multimodal commuter, even across state lines. Anneke bikes to the train station in Philadelphia and takes her bike on PATCO to ride to her job in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Anneke is famous among her friends and family for her dedication to a car free lifestyle. She prefers to bike not only to work, but to the store and just about everywhere else. She has even picked up her family’s Thanksgiving turkey on her bike, and regularly hauls a guitar or fold-up table on her commute to work.
2018 Clean Air Commute Award Winners
2018 Clean Air Employer Winner- Kieran Timberlake
Kieran Timberlake, an architecture firm based in Northern Liberties, has been supporting sustainable commuting for over 10 years! Employees can sign up to use pre-tax dollars for transit passes and other commuting options through Wageworks. Kieran Timberlake also makes it easy for employees to bike to work knowing they will have a secure area to store their bikes and showers to freshen up before heading into the office.
“One of the reasons we chose to locate our studio in Northern Liberties was so our staff could travel easily by bike and public transportation each day.” says Carin Whitney, Communications Director at Kieran Timberlake, “This has had a huge impact on everyone’s health and well-being and lets us be good stewards of the environment.”
The benefits provided by Kieran Timberlake exhibit how easy it is for companies to increase retention, reduce their carbon footprint and save money!
Clean Air Council is excited to recognize Kieran Timberlake as our Clean Air Commute Employer of 2018!
Clean Air Commuter Winner- Christopher Johnson, Director of Technology, The Green Program
Christopher Johnson is the epitome of a dedicated commuter with a commute from Mount Airy to City Hall by bike everyday. Before Christopher started biking, he took the commuter rail to Center City, finding a few minutes to walk during his mornings and evenings, but after hearing about the Love to Ride Challenge, a month-long biking challenge in October 2017, he jumped on his uncle’s bike to get in shape and save money.
Today, Christopher bikes to work from his home in Germantown and uses the opportunity not only to get to the office, but work towards personal goals!
“Love to Ride was a cool opportunity to challenge my own ability, get better at biking and taking care of my bike, explore my city, and bond with my co-working fam.”
Nominated by a co-worker, Christopher’s dedication to commuting is noticed by his office and the Clean Air Council. In honor of his hard work, Christopher has won a gift card to his local bike shop. Congratulations Christopher!
2017 Clean Air Commute Award Winners
2017 Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year: University of Pennsylvania
The 2017 winner of the Clean Air Commute Employer award is The University of Pennsylvania. In 2014, The University of Pennsylvania launched Climate Action Plan 2.0, their roadmap for environmental sustainability. Their plan sets challenging new standards for campus performance; expands educational opportunities for students; and provides enriched support for faculty research, teaching, and collaboration. The Climate Action Plan also focuses on transportation and strongly encourages sustainable transportation for both students and employees.
Employees are offered comprehensive commuter transit benefits to help make sustainable commuting an easy choice. These benefits include discounted parking rates for carpools and vanpools, electric charging stations for electric vehicles, and incentives for participating in car sharing.
Most recently, Penn launched new incentives for commuting by bicycle. Cyclists not only enjoy ample bike parking and dedicated bike repair stations complete with tools and air pumps, but employees can also enroll in the bicycle commuter expense reimbursement program where they receive a reimbursement of up to $20 per month for reasonable bicycle expenses.
Today, over 50% of the Penn community uses sustainable transportation. The University of Pennsylvania is a leader in clean commute benefits and has earned the Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year award for 2016.
2016 Clean Air Commute Employer Runner-up: American Association for Cancer Research
The 2017 Clean Air Commute Employer runner-up is the American Association of Cancer Research. They are strong promoters of RideECO, a benefit program that allows commuters and employers to save money by putting pre-tax dollars towards public transit fares. Additionally, AACR encourages sustainable commuting by hosting lunch and learn presentations and wellness events. AACR even had Clean Air Council’s transportation staff in to talk to their employees this past summer on two separate occasions.
Clean Air Commuter of the Year: Robin Irizarry
The 2017 Commuter of the Year is Robin Irizarry. He has an exemplary multimodal plan for getting to work. Robin enjoys commuting by bike along the Tacony Creek Park trail as often as possible. It’s a small piece of The Circuit Trails, the regional trail network, and he can take the entire trail on his way to work. It is a great way to get to his office in Frankford and sure beats sitting in traffic! It also gives him an opportunity to keep an eye on the trail and the creek – part of his role as the Philly Watershed Coordinator for the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Watershed Partnership. Robin rides the trail and keeps his binoculars handy so he can get some birdwatching in on the way into the office. TTF Watershed Partnership has been working hard to demonstrate to their community just how great the little trail is for commuting, exercising, and relaxing #OntheCircuit.
When conditions are less conducive for riding, Robin carpools with a coworker who lives nearby. Since he lives right near the Cheltenham train station, he frequently hops on the train to get into the city for meetings at the Philadelphia Water Department. His office, in Frankford, is just a few blocks from the Market-Frankford line, which he also often takes to meetings in the city.
