United in their concern over Utah’s air quality and the associated health impacts, 13 Utah business leaders today announced the formation of Leaders for Clean Air, a non-profit organization founded to provide the targeted push they believe necessary to build demand for electric vehicles in the local marketplace.
Leaders for Clean Air believes electric vehicles will be a transformational technology for those seeking to improve air quality throughout the state, and efforts encouraging the deployment of charging station infrastructure will be essential in expediting the public’s adoption of electric vehicles. Announced today during a press conference held at the Utah State Capitol, this proactive business effort currently represents Utah-based businesses 3form, Backcountry.com, Black Diamond, Cubiscan, Ken Garff, Lancer Automotive Group, Packsize, Rumor, Sorenson Capital, Strong & Hanni, Uinta Brewing Company, Utah Paperbox, and Vivint, all of which have installed electric vehicle charging (EVC) stations at their business locations.
“We all have to do our part to improve our air quality and Utah’s business community is stepping up with a new initiative to move the ball forward,” said Governor Gary R. Herbert. “By working to make it more practical to own an electric vehicle in Utah, Leaders for Clean Air is helping to advance an important new technology that has the potential to boost our air quality efforts.”
With a unified vision to improve Utah’s air quality, the goals of Leaders for Clean Air™ are two-fold:
- To unite Utah business leaders in establishing 2,000 Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations for
employees who commute with zero-tailpipe emission vehicles. - To assemble a group of leaders who employ 100,000 employees, collectively.
Leaders for Clean Air was conceived and led by Packsize® CEO Hanko Kiessner. To date, Packsize International installed 16 electric vehicle charging stations. As a result of this initiative, roughly 15 percent of commuter miles to and from Packsize are now tailpipe emission-free and Packsize employees save about $1,000 annually in fuel, service costs, time, and vehicle depreciation compared to their former mode of transportation.
Leaders for Clean Air is a pay-it-forward model, meaning an interested business receives a free charging station and installation recommendations, and in return is asked to make an investment of approximately $550 to pay-forward the EVC station to the next Utah business.
To learn more, visit www.LeadersforCleanAir.org.
