The Clean Air Campaign, in partnership with the region’s transportation management associations (TMAs) and RideSmart, the region’s ridematching service, presented the 2009 PACE Awards on Tuesday, November 10. Four metro Atlanta employers and a property management company were honored for their efforts to reduce traffic and improve air quality.
In just one year, SouthStar, an affiliate of Georgia Natural Gas, has created a corporate culture which inspires 33 percent of its employees to use commute alternatives. After launching a green campaign in 2008, SouthStar took a look at its employees’ commutes and brought in Midtown Transportation Solutions to help them find workable alternatives. As part of its commute options programs, the company offers reserved parking for carpoolers and also pays for half of the cost of a monthly transit pass for employees.
Small Business Finalist: Ignition
Porsche has shown a strong commitment to commute alternatives in the past year, moving from an entry-level Partner to a Gold Level Partner. Despite layoffs and other cost-saving measures, the company introduced a $25 transit subsidy this year, and it also allows employees to pay for transit passes through a pre-tax payroll deduction. Porsche has embraced creativity, working with Perimeter Transportation Coalition to host multiple promotions including a President’s Day essay contest that asked the question, “Which president would you most want to carpool with, and why?” More than 20 percent of the company’s 140 employees now use commute alternatives.
Medium Business Finalists: The Atlanta History Center, IDI
A 2004 PACE Award winner in this category, Emory University proves that it has not rested on its laurels. The university has continued to demonstrate an overall commitment to environmental sustainability and an innovation in incorporating commute alternatives into its campus culture. At least 14 percent of Emory’s 19,000 employees use commute alternatives, taking advantage of more than 70 parking spaces designated for carpools and vanpools and a $51 subsidy for transit and vanpool fares. Emory also operates a shuttle services that carries more than 38,000 passengers per month, and half of the shuttle fleet runs on biodiesel produced from Emory’s waste oil. The university’s bike share program gives students, faculty and staff free, easy access to bikes and helmets for use while they’re on campus. Emory also offers a car sharing program so that alternative commuters have access to a vehicle during the day, if needed.
Large Business Finalists: Georgia Power, Woodruff Arts Center
With more than 10,000 people working at six campuses across metro Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a large-scale commute options program that provides a variety of benefits for employees. The CDC provides a vanpool and transit subsidy of up to $230 per employee per month, almost 5,000 employees work flexible hours and more than 1,700 have compressed work weeks. There are also 1,775 teleworkers at CDC. Overall, nearly 40 percent of CDC’s metro Atlanta employees use a commute alternative at least one day per week.
Public Sector Finalists: Department of Community Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Carter manages three multi-tenant office buildings at Atlantic Station with a total occupancy of 1900. Nearly one-third of those have registered to log their clean commutes online. The office buildings are environmentally friendly, having earned both ENERGY STAR and LEED Silver certification. Carter sells transit passes on site, and also provides a wide variety of amenities that enable people to take care of errands without getting into their cars. Carter also offers a bike share program that gives tenants free access to bikes for short trips during the work day. Carter has worked with ASAP+, its local TMA, on creative promotions to encourage commute alternative use, including this summer’s Clean Commute Challenge which resulted in a 20 percent increase in participation.
Property Management Finalists: Cousins Properties, 999 Peachtree; Manulife Financial, Ashford Green