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Greater Indiana Clean Cities Names Clean Fleet Award Winners
Greater Indiana Clean Cities Names Clean Fleet Award Winners
INDIANAPOLIS, September 7, 2021 – Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc. (Greater Indiana) announced the 2021 Clean Fleet Award winners at its Annual Awards Reception held in downtown Indianapolis. The reception was sponsored by Citizens Energy, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Cummins, and Indiana Michigan Power. Courtney Kingery, CEO of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Gary Parker, Engineering Program Director in the New Power business unit for Cummins Inc. were among the featured speakers who helped kick off the reception.
Each year, Greater Indiana recognizes outstanding contributions to advancing the organization’s mission. The awards are given annually to organizations and individuals that take actions in the following areas: Alternative Fueling Stations, Clean Fleet Initiatives, Clean Air Champions, Alternative Fuel Leaders, and Drivers of Change.
This year’s winners include: Ball State University, City of Indianapolis, KAKCO LLC, AES Indiana and MOTOR, and Indiana University. Helena Jette, Biofuels Director for the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance, was recognized for her Leadership with Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc. over the last three years. The American Lung Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance were also awarded the Driver of Change Award for the B20 Club of Indiana program, which showcases exceptional green fleets with experience using B20 or higher biodiesel blends in the state of Indiana.
“The award winners we are honoring are leaders for others to follow and adopt the use of alternative fuels, vehicles, and technologies,” said Kerri Garvin, Executive Director, Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc. “The actions made by these partners are helping to improve the air quality in Indiana by reducing harmful emissions from vehicles. Supporting alternative fuels not only improves our air, but also promotes our local economy.”
Greater Indiana Award winners by category include:
Clean Air Champion – University Fleet: Ball State University
With a campus-wide goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, Ball State University depends on B20 biodiesel to reduce emissions from the university’s diesel fleet. Ball State uses B20 in delivery vehicles, pickups, and work trucks, as well as in campus shuttles and buses that provides nearly 1 million rides to passengers per year. Their use of E85 in 146 light-duty vehicles results in the reduction of 35.8 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Because Ball State uses E85 and B20, they are contributing to cleaner air and a better environment for their students, faculty and the surrounding Muncie, Indiana, community.
Pictured: Brian Naylor, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor at Ball State University, accepting the Clean Air Champion: University Fleet award from Kerri Garvin, Director of Greater Indiana
For Clean Fleet Leader: City of Indianapolis
In 2020, Indianapolis Fleet Services procured 8 electric and 16 alternative fuel mowers and converted their fleet services sedan motor pool to hybrid vehicles. In the spring of 2021, the Office of Sustainability’s Knozone regional air quality initiative launched an electric vehicle education and awareness campaign called Highly EVolved. By visiting behighlyinvolved.com, users can learn the facts about EVs, research different models, and discover public charging locations.
By using alternative fuels and telematics, the City of Indianapolis was able to lower their fleet emissions. Through the use of E85 in 120 Light Duty vehicles, the City of Indianapolis has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 290.4 tons. Use of propane in 22 of their vehicles and in some of their lawn and maintenance equipment resulted in 38.3 tons of GHG emission reductions. The use of telematics on 42 Heavy Duty Refuse Trucks to reprogram shift points and match fleet duty cycle saved their fleet $250,000/year in fuel cost and reduced GHG emissions by 2,091.1 tons.
Indianapolis remains committed to their mission of lean, clean and advanced performance. “As a municipal enterprise, we embrace our position as a role model for local organizations and citizens alike. Our fleet is just one opportunity where we our leveraging the potential to decrease our carbon footprint and set an example the rest of Indianapolis can follow,” Morgan Mickelson, Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of Indianapolis said.
Thrive Indianapolis, the City of Indianapolis’ sustainability and resiliency action plan, has four main goals: pilot low-cost electric vehicle parking downtown, identify downtown fast charging locations, launch an electric vehicle corporate fleet challenge, and continue working with IndyGo to convert the public bus fleet to electric. Thrive’s 2025 target figure for registered EVs is 3,040. The target for publicly available EV charging stations is 300. Coordinated efforts are well under way for the city to reach those goals.
Pictured: Morgan Mickelson, Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of Indianapolis, accepting the Clean Fleet leader award from Kerri Garvin, Director of Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc.
Outstanding Board Leadership: Helena Jette
Helena Jette took the role of board president in 2020, showing her dedication and drive to her fellow board members and staff.
Helena serves as a State Representative on the Ethanol Action Team for the National Corn Growers Association and Director of Biofuels for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council.
Helena served a vital role in the creation of the B20 Club of Indiana, a program that recognizes and showcases the experiences of fleets using biodiesel in Indiana.
Through each of her roles, she has consistently proven herself an innovative advocate and marketer for the biofuels industry and a strong voice for the agricultural community at large.
Pictured from left to right: Larry Campbell, Director of Fleet Operations for the City of Fort Wayne and past Greater Indiana Board President); Helena Jette, Biofuels Director for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council and current Greater Indiana Board President; Kerri Garvin, Director of Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc.
Alternative Fuel Leader – Compressed Natural Gas: KAKCO LLC
KAKCO, LLC is a full service certified CNG station on the northwest side of Indianapolis. They have been providing CNG to HD Trucks for the last 15 years.
Through their fuel and customers, they have reduced Gasoline Gallon Equivalent by 88,114 gal and GHG emissions by 57.5 tons. KAKCO has been a long-standing member and supporter of Greater Indiana.
Pictured: Kris Kyler, President of KAKCO CNG fuel, accepting the Alternative Fuel Leader award for Compressed Natural Gas from Kerri Garvin, Director of Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc.
Clean Air Champion – Electric: AES Indiana and MOTOR
Incubated within AES, Motor partners with utilities to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles. Motor engages customers through their utility offering access to shared or individual electric vehicles, overcoming common barriers to adoption and ensuring the environmental, economic and grid benefits of electrification.
Motor was established to make it simple for people to start driving electric cars using a personal, full-service electric car subscription. They currently have 65 active Motor Drive subscribers in the Indianapolis market. Over 60% of their qualifying members have managed home charging, enabling AES Indiana to improve grid reliability and environmental outcomes by reducing the demand for new carbon intensive generation. The program accounts for approximately a quarter of all new EVs in Indianapolis over the last year. Annually, the program’s 65 EVs prevent 299 metric tons* of carbon dioxide from being released into the greater Indianapolis area’s air.
Pictured from left to right: Kristina Lund, President and CEO of AES Indiana; Justin Sufan, Director of Regulatory, New Products at AES Next; Zac Elliott, DSM Manager at AES Indiana; and Rhett Barker, Indiana Market Lead at Motor Drive.
Alternative Fuel Leader – Electric: Indiana University
Located on the Bloomington campus, Fleet Services is the full-service, fleet management organization at Indiana University. They provide rentals, leases, vehicles for sale, and other transportation-related services for IU Bloomington, and also offer fleet program assistance at IUPUI and the IU regional campuses.
IU’s fleet is made up of 13% all-electric and hybrid vehicles as of 2020. The University fleet has included fully electric, hybrid electric, and plug-in hybrid electric into their operations. With 24 vehicles consisting of full electric, hybrid electric, and plug-in hybrid electric options, they have reduced their annual GHG emissions by 36.3 tons.
Pictured: Makayla Bonney, Assistant Director of Sustain IU, accepting the Alternative Fuel Leader award for Electric from Kerri Garvin, Director of Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc.
Driver of Change: B20 Club of Indiana
The B20 Club of Indiana is a collaboration between the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the American Lung Association that showcases exceptional green fleets with experience using B20 or higher biodiesel blends in the state of Indiana.
Through these efforts, the B20 Club also educates non-user fleets, stakeholders, and policymakers on the benefits of cleaner-burning, low-carbon biodiesel in the State of Indiana. To date, B20 Club members have used more than 2.3 million gallons of cleaner-burning B20 biodiesel, providing a carbon reduction equivalent to planting more than 67,000 trees and an estimated health benefit of more than $170,000 to Indiana residents.
The Indiana Soybean Alliance and American Lung Association initiated a partnership to explore growth opportunities and promote biodiesel as a cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum diesel in 2019. After a successful first year, ALA and ISA expanded their partnership and founded the B20 Club of Indiana in 2020.
Pictured from left to right: Edward Ebert, Senior Director of Grain Production & Utilization for the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance; Larry Campbell, Director of Fleet Operations for the City of Fort Wayne (B20 Club of Indiana Fleet); Helena Jette, Biofuels Director for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council; Brian Naylor, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor at Ball State University (B20 Club of Indiana Fleet); Courtney Kingery, CEO of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council.
About Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc.
Greater Indiana Clean Cities, Inc. (Greater Indiana) is an independent, standalone nonprofit 501(c)3 organization serving the state of Indiana to support alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). Greater Indiana’s mission is to advance alternative, domestic fueled transportation including energy efficient technologies across all sectors in Indiana. The organization is overseen by a Board of Directors representing biofuels, municipalities, utilities, transportation manufacturers, and fuel suppliers. For 22 years Greater Indiana has been assisting public and private sector members including: cities, schools, utilities, fueling companies, government agencies, universities, and other nonprofit organizations with their alternative fuel projects.
News Media Contact:
Kaylee May, [email protected]
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