Past Clean Air Commute Awards Winners
2016 Clean Air Commute Award Winners
2016 Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year: Yards Brewing Company
Yards Brewing Company was selected as the Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year for their conscious decision to support sustainable commutes as part of their business model. With a staff of 49 full-time employees, 53% choose clean commuting, including walking, biking, carpool, public transit and even running. Yards makes clean commuting an easy choice by offering their employees sheltered bike storage, lockers, showers and a pre-tax benefit for mass transit riders.
Gina Vasoli of Yards says, “We support sustainable commuting because it’s one way to ensure the vitality of this great city and its people.” As one Yards employee described, “Every year we see less and less employee cars in our [parking] lot while our bike racks are becoming beyond full.” In addition to clean commuting, Yards is Pennsylvania’s first 100% wind powered brewery.Yards won a Clean Air Run team entry and will be honored for their award in the July issue of Grid. Cheers to Yards!
2016 Clean Air Commute Employer Runner-up: Elsevier
Elsevier’s Philadelphia office was chosen as the runner-up Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year. Elsevier offers employees access to a secure bike storage room and WageWorks, a program for pre-tax public transportation benefits. A large share of Elsevier’s Philadelphia employees walk, bike, or take public transportation to the office. Elsevier’s employee-led Green Team also hosted Cleaner Commute Philadelphia for a lunch-and-learn about sustainable transportation in the Philadelphia area and the programs Cleaner Commute Philadelphia offers.
2016 Clean Air Commuter of the Year: Ted Cary
Ted Cary got rid of his car 15 years ago and hasn’t looked back. His daily commute is a three-hour round trip combining bus and subway from Center City to Newtown Square. Once a week, Ted is able to telecommute from home. Ted says, “I still feel the best way to get to Newtown Square from Center City is SEPTA. That’s partly because West Chester Pike can’t accommodate all of its commuter traffic. I’d prefer to be sleeping or reading in a bus rather than navigating the road myself.” He also likes to use his time on SEPTA listening to NPR’s Ted Talks. On the weekend, Ted likes to ride his bike on new Circuit Trail connections, visit Morris Arboretum by way of the Wissahickon or take a ride on the Schuylkill River Trail to Valley Forge National Historical Park.Ted won a $150 gift certificate to his favorite bike shop, Bicycle Therapy.
2016 Clean Air Commuter Runner-up: Cara Tratner
You can find Cara Tratner in the rain, snow, or shine commuting 4.5 miles on her yellow and black Schwinn, dubbed Queen Bee, from West Philadelphia to her job at Institute for Community Justice in Center City. Additionally, she travels to various parts of the city including the jail facilities in Northeast Philadelphia and Clinica Bienestar in Kensington. She usually takes the 18 to 31 mile round trip by bike, but some days she combines bicycling with public transit.
Cara says, “I feel extremely committed to making sure my commute, and all of my travel around the city, is as sustainable and environmentally responsible as possible! I have never owned a car and never plan to, and I feel that sustainable commuting is an important way I can reduce my own footprint.” Beyond commuting to work, Cara traveled 1,400 miles of the West Coast by bike. Cara won a $25 gift certificate to her local bike shop.
2015 Clean Air Commute Award Winners
2015 Clean Air Commute Employer of the Year: ChatterBlast Media
ChatterBlast Media, located in Philadelphia’s Midtown Village, is a social media marketing company. ChatterBlast chose its location in part for its easy accessibility by public transit, walking, and bicycle. Not a single ChatterBlast employee commutes by car. For public transportation riders, ChatterBlast’s office is close to SEPTA and PATCO stations. Employees who commute by bike are offered cash incentives for bicycle purchases and maintenance and, of course, indoor bike storage. ChatterBlast also provides bike training to new cyclists in the office and regularly sends a team to the Bike MS: City to Shore ride.
2015 Clean Air Commute Employer Runner-up: Azavea
Azavea, a geospatial analysis and application development firm, chose its location, in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia, for its accessibility by bike and foot. Azavea helps employees cover the cost of bicycle purchases, repair, and accessories. At the office, they offer bicycle commuters bike storage, showers, a changing room, and lockers.
Azavea doesn’t just get its employees to work sustainably—its commitment to clean air extends to the projects the company takes on. Examples of Azavea’s sustainability-oriented projects include OpenTreeMap, an urban tree inventory, and multi-modal transportation planning apps for cities around the world.
2015 Clean Air Commuter of the Year: Marc Train
Marc Train was Cleaner Commute’s first Clean Air Commuter of the Year. As part of his exemplary commute, Train commuted over an hour each way to work on multiple SEPTA modes, including two bus lines and a trolley. Additionally, Train advocated for fellow coworkers who used public transportation for their commutes. As Train explained, “I made it a point to remind our office manager of the valuable and experienced employees alongside myself who also took [public transportation] routes from elsewhere in the city, and to keep their scheduling in mind.”
Do you or someone you know brave snow, blocked bike lanes, early morning small talk, or uncomfortable proximity to your fellow public transit riders to get to work each day, in a way that reflects your commitment to the environment? Does your employer go the extra mile for sustainable commuting? Enter the most dedicated sustainable commuter or employer you know in our Clean Air Commute Award! 2108 nominations are now open. Questions or concerns? Contact Kamali Alloway, Sustainable Transportation Outreach Coordinator, at 215-567-4004 ext. 131 or kalloway@cleanair.org.
