Utah Clean Cities Coalition 1st Annual Beyond Zero Green Fleets Award Ceremony 2020
Date: Thursday, November 19th
Time of the event: 11 – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Virtual Event
Website: http://utahcleancities.org/green-fleet/#/find/nearest
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UTAH CLEAN CITIES COALITION 1ST ANNUAL
BEYOND ZERO GREEN FLEET AWARDS CEREMONY 2020
Nov 19, 2020 — Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Clean Cities hosted the 1st Annual Beyond Zero Green Fleet Awards Ceremony today. Twenty outstanding Utah fleets, community leaders and organizations were presented with awards for their contributions to reduce emissions and improve air quality in Utah thus ensuring a healthy and prosperous future for Utah communities and building environmental resilience. These awards recognized those in Utah’s transportation sector who have committed to developing zero-emission fleet goals through the adoption and expansion of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.
The Beyond Zero Green Fleets Award Ceremony was moderated by Utah Clean Cities’ Executive Director, Tammie Bostick. Utah Clean Cities presented awards for Fleet of the Year, Sustainability Partner of the Year, Community Impact of the Year and other categories such as Non-Profit Partner of the Year and Workplace Charging Partner of the Year.
Our event speakers included:
- Tammie Bostick, Executive Director of Utah Clean Cities
- Scott Brandeberry, CEO of Fleet Saver and Lancer Energy
- Matt Stalsberg, Owner & General Manager of ACE Recycling and Waste
- Jeff Bradybaugh, Superintendent of Zion National Park
The Utah Clean Cities’ Green Fleet Program has provided key stakeholders, public and private fleets, leading utilities and school districts with the necessary resources needed to convert to zero-emission and beyond-zero vehicle technologies.
“We are expanding and enhancing our traditional fleet collective to become change-makers with the Beyond Zero Green Fleets Program. In conceptualizing the new program we simply were not going to settle for near-zero-emissions or even zero-emission fleet modeling. Instead, we created this active and measurable climate-focused fleet model,” said Tammie Bostick. “The Beyond Zero Green Fleets Program aims to support fleets realizing 100% zero-emission to add carbon benefiting renewables as part of truly impactful endeavors.”
The program intends to support our communities in reducing emissions from trucks, buses, and other fleet vehicles to provide partnership opportunities through fleet consulting and connecting resources with fleets; including grants, incentives and other fleet building tools. This innovative fleet program is designed to connect key stakeholders across Utah to make a collaborative effort to educate, incentivize and support advanced fuels in Utah.
“[ACE Recycling and Disposal] is about transporting and disposing waste responsibly in order to keep a clean and healthy environment, switching to a Green Fleet was a natural transition as it aligns with our values. As a waste hauling business, fuel is one of our biggest expenses. Switching to alternative fuels has reduced our fuel costs by half. The environmental benefits coupled with the cost savings made adopting a Green Fleet, now a Beyond Zero Fleet, a no brainer for ACE.”
Since March 2019, ACE Recycling and Disposal has been powered by renewable natural gas (RNG). RNG is a fuel generated from multiple sources including landfills, livestock and organic waste. waste haul. Using RNG reduces our environmental impact even more as we no longer use natural gas extracted through fracking.
“Our ultimate goal is to use our own natural gas from the decomposition of a landfill. Technology has now made it possible to close the loop on waste to renewable gas. This new renewable fuel source is a great step toward a better future,” said Matt Stalsberg, Owner & General Manager of ACE Recycling and Waste.
Green Fleet programs can help reduce oil-dependent economic risks for business while demonstrating environmental leadership. Adopting alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies also create goodwill for companies, and boosts employee health and morale.
Lancer Energy was established in the Salt Lake Valley in 1989 and currently serves 7 states in the Western U.S. Lancer joined Utah Clean Cities as a fleet innovator in 2000 by providing natural gas and propane vehicle repairs. As of 2020, the company is utilizing the newest technology in compressed natural gas (CNG) and RNG in vehicle conversions, stations and is now on the cutting edge of advancing hydrogen energy by bringing it to the forefront of the transportation industry.
“The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, there is not one advanced fuel that will accomplish this. It is going to take a combination of all the fuels to solve the air quality issues,” said Scott Brandeberry, CEO of Fleet Saver and Lancer Energy.
As a Green Fleet exemplar, Zion National Park (ZNP) successfully integrated propane shuttle buses that have significantly reduced emissions in the park and establish an economically sound alternative fuel through a nationally protected and recognized environment. The transportation leadership of ZNP led to an 80% improvement in air quality within the first year of operation and has reduced 3.8 million petroleum products over the last 20 years.
“The values of the shuttle system are that they provide access to an extraordinary visitor experience, being able to focus on the environment around you rather than driving in your car and being able to get on and off the shuttle bus at different locations just provides a great visitor experience,” said Jeff Bradybaugh, Superintendent of ZNP.
Soon, the ZNP fleet team will transition to an all-electric shuttle system. With two new electric buses on the route today, the electrification process is working in the park to replace the trustworthy and reliable old propane-powered buses with electric ones. Adopting electric buses will allow ZNP to be a leader nation-wide in sustainable transportation national and state parks while enhancing the visitor experience. And furthermore millions of visitors annually will see the leadership of the park and the Utah leadership that has supported the journey.
We invite you to join Utah Clean Cities for our 1st Annual Beyond Zero Green Fleets Award Ceremony 2020 on Thursday, November 19, 2020, at 11 – 12:30 p.m. MST. Register for the event here: http://utahcleancities.org/event/green-fleets-award-ceremony-2020/
Visit http://utahcleancities.org/green-fleet/#/find/nearest to learn more about Utah Clean Cities’ Beyond Zero Green Fleets Program and the benefits provided to partnering organizations, including fleet consultation, support for funding and annual event recognition.
Press Opportunities: If you were unable to attend this virtual event but are interested in event coverage, contact Emily Paskett from Utah Clean Cities for interview opportunities and video recording of the declaration reading: emily.paskett@utahcleancities.org
About Utah Clean Cities
Web: utahcleancities.org
The mission of the Utah Clean Cities Coalition is to advance the energy, economic, and environmental security of the United States by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that reduce the use of petroleum in the transportation sector. Working closely with the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities programs, federal and state government, as well as our local stakeholders, we leverage our resources to bring funding into Utah to support the development and deployment of advanced fuel infrastructure and vehicles with an emphasis on renewable energies and technologies. We are committed to expanding transportation modeling by offering consultation services to access proven, state-of-the-art technological vehicles and equipment with proven return on investment for smart mobility fleets. We are here to support actionable steps to meet the challenges of our carbon-constrained world, to meet state and federal mandates, and implement sound business practices to tackle the serious nonattainment conditions in our state.