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The numbers really add up |
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Written by Ron Zima
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Sunday, 01 November 2009 |
$100,000 in gas and 200 tons of greenhouse gas. That’s a lot. That’s the example Peter Kohler Windows has set as a goal for step one of its campaign with The Children’s Clean Air Network: motivating hundreds of employees to go IDLE-FREE.
“Wow. I was amazed at the impact we could have as a workforce on something as simple as turning off our personal vehicles when they’re parked,” says CEO Kevin Pelley (see his YouTube video announcing the campaign HERE).
“Just 10 minutes a day over the course of a year. It really adds up. And I would imagine that a lot of us IDLE a lot more than that.” Pelley is so enthusiastic about IDLE-FREE, he’s joined the board of The Children’s Clean Air Network to help sell the effort to dealers, customers and the public.
The company launched their grass-roots employee campaign on October 30 and is quickly gaining converts and champions (see our launch photo-album HERE). “My girlfriend’s dad is a mechanic. He’ll be the first one to tell you that IDLING is terrible on the engine,” says Peter Kohler employee Gary Parsons.
Parsons was proudly showing off his windshield blanket, which eliminates the need to clear and defrost the windshield. “On a cold day, I just start-up and go. 30 seconds is all you need for a warm engine on a cold day, then go. It’s the best thing for the engine.”
Four year-old Brayden Bingley, part of the Peter Kohler employee family, was also on-hand for the campaign kick-off. Brayden’s presence helped employees focus on what The Children’s Clean Air Network is about; cutting greenhouse gas and improving air quality for kids.
Peter Kohler Windows is a hugely important piece to the “mass and grass” campaign that we’re building to sell North America to shut off its tailpipe when it’s parked. People need to see peer-leaders like Peter Kohler creating a mass movement in the marketplace and changing public behavior.
Needless IDLING is an epidemic across North America while anti-idling bylaws, enacted by many cities and towns, are virtually unenforceable. Meanwhile, the car industry will tell you that we’re still years away from a mass-conversion to cleaner vehicles, which is why mass adoption of a new IDLE-FREE habit is so important. In the U.S. alone, a university study calculates that needless IDLING sends about 5 billion gallons of gas up in smoke every year.
The public responds to genuine leadership on green issues. Peter Kohler Windows has solid credentials in terms of sustainability. Check out their track record HERE.
Over the weeks and months ahead, the company will be having fun promoting the campaign with kids’ artwork and promotional items like Peter Kohler vanity license plates for hundreds of employee vehicles to carry the message far and wide.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 01 November 2009 )
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