Colorado Springs Utilities, serving the Pikes Peak community at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, received one of the top awards at the Green Transportation Summit annual Western Region Sustainable Fleet Awards held in Portland, Oregon last month. The utility’s willingness to adopt alternative fuels, embracing natural gas, electric, hybrid and E85 compatible vehicles, contributed to it earning the Leading by Example award in the government large fleet category (>100 vehicles).
The Sustainable Fleet Awards recognize fleets that are going above and beyond business-as-usual to operate sustainably. (The Western Region includes California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming, Colorado and British Columbia, Canada.)
Fleets were evaluated on the extent to which their planning, management and ongoing operations:
- Conserve fuel
- Promote efficiencies
- Integrate alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles
- Minimize environmental impacts, such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, toxic spills, etc., especially in communities historically disproportionately impacted by environmental harms
- Improve fleet performance over time
- Embrace innovative practices or fleet technologies
Working with Southern Colorado Clean Cities Coalition’s Kyle Lisek, the utility has made tremendous strides to reduce their fleets emissions by using clean, domestically produced fuels.
“Colorado Springs Utilities is committed to promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) use in Colorado Springs for fuel independence and environmental stewardship,” said Fleet Supervisor Wayne Griffin. “Not only do we see the cost benefit of using CNG, but also an improvement to local air quality through emissions reduction.”
According to Mark Murphy, Communication Manager for the city-owned operation, they have 25 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet vehicles and two fleet refueling stations, both open to the public. More CNG vehicles are planned.
The utility also supports a nationwide effort to increase the availability of CNG fueling stations, especially along the Front Range.
(Source: Green Transportation Summit and Colorado Springs Utility)
