A Clean Air Force of Central Texas Initiative
Ground-level ozone and PM2.5 pollution are a challenge in Central Texas
Meet our corporate, public and non-profit partners
Tools, outreach materials, employer resources
Leaders from the business, environmental and health communities have teamed up to form one innovative solution to Air Pollution in Central Texas — The Clean Air Partners Program (CAPP). The program’s purpose is to enlist the help of businesses and their employees in their effort to keep our region livable, healthy, and prosperous.
The Clean Air Partners Program offers a flexible and workable menu of options for area businesses that will help keep our air breathable while also helping to keep regulations on our lifestyle and business managed at the local level.
Clean Air Partners are local employers who pledge to reduce pollution-forming emissions while receiving regional recognition in return. The program recognizes local employers who reduce their emissions with various options while promoting their clean air successes to the community. Partners carry out clean air efforts via employee and other clean business practices to reduce the emissions that contribute to unhealthy air in our region. Employers report their achievements once a year.
Most pollutants creating harmful air pollution in Central Texas are coming from our vehicles, both on-road (commuting vehicles) and off-road (construction/lawn/site vehicles and equipment). Commuting to work is the single most significant contributor to poor air quality on-road, and construction, manufacturing, and equipment use are the source of most off-road pollution. Employers have a part in both these as the source of the problem, but also the solution. Working together, employers and the Clean Air Force of Central Texas develop innovative strategies to reduce emissions. Our current Partners are listed on our Partners page.
CAF will work with any employer in Central Texas from Waco to San Antonio, with a special focus on Austin and its 17 surrounding counties in the region. Any employer within Central Texas is eligible to become a Clean Air Partner. Partners pledge to make a good faith effort to reduce harmful emissions. Each Partner creates its own emissions goals and develops a set of clean air efforts (including those ongoing!) that are practical for the Partner’s business makeup. Such efforts include employee commuting solutions (encouraging transit use, vanpooling, carpooling, teleworking, biking, walking, compressed/flexible schedules); use of cleaner fleets and fuels; clean energy practices; low-emission construction and landscaping activities; utility conservation; and many other activities that can contribute to cleaner air.
Each Partner reports its annual successes via a user-friendly online reporting tool that calculates the Partner’s emission reductions while archiving the data and tracking the total emissions reduction.
Why become a Partner? The best reason is that it makes good business sense. Most of the emission reduction strategies result in saving employers and employees money. In addition, Partners are publicly thanked and recognized in a variety of advertisements, events, and publications.
Secondly, an employer can become a steward of our community and our environment. Air quality is everyone’s business because everyone contributes to our ozone and particulate problem. Clean Air Partners offers employers this opportunity by doing their share for cleaner air.
Finally, it makes sends a message to consumers that you care. Recent studies by Nielson indicate consumers prefer to do business with companies that care about the environment. Joining Clean Air Partners sends a clear message that your company is vitally concerned about improving Air Quality in Central Texas.
P.O. Box 29295
Austin, TX 78755
