Tag Archive for: Derek Miller

2023 Clear the Air Challenge Results Announced

The Salt Lake Chamber, along with partners TravelWise Utah and Utah Clean Air Partnership – UCAIR, is excited to announce the results of the 14th annual Clear the Air Challenge. This year’s top honors go to Fidelity Investments for large teams and Architectural Nexus for small teams. 

“This past month has shown what we can achieve as a group of committed participants joining together for our air quality needs,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “The Clear the Air Challenge shows the strength of business doing good in the community, and highlights how each of us can make a difference to reduce pollution and collectively improve our quality of life. We congratulate all the businesses and individuals who participated by adopting Travelwise strategies to clear the air!”  

The Clear the Air Challenge is a month-long initiative undertaken by business, government and community leaders that encourages Utah residents to drive less and drive smarter during the month of July. Participants help improve air quality by avoiding trips alone in their car and using TravelWise Strategies such as carpooling, teleworking, taking public transit, biking or trip chaining.

“Summer ozone poses a real health challenge, and through the Clear the Air Challenge, we were able to highlight the actions we can individually take to make a difference for one another,” said Kim Frost, executive director of UCAIR. “Air quality is a continual challenge in Utah, but each year we can educate more people and empower them to develop healthy travel habits. We congratulate this year’s team winners, large and small, for leading by example and showing the impact that comes through collective effort.”

Over the past month, businesses and individuals from across the state participated in the annual competition to show their commitment to our environment and, more specifically, our air quality. Collectively, this year’s participants reduced 365.1 tons of CO2 emissions, eliminated 55,179 trips, reduced 1,027,027.3 miles traveled, saved $600,000, and burned 1.9 million calories in just 31 days.

Top Large Teams:

  1. Fidelity Investments (CO2 saved: 107 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 14,336; Miles Saved: 290,235.7)
  2. State of Utah Agencies (CO2 saved: 81.3 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 9,526; Miles Saved: 216,790.2)
  3. University of Utah (CO2 saved: 25.4 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 5,227; Miles Saved: 75,828.5)

Top Small Teams:

  1. Architectural Nexus (CO2 saved: 15.9 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 982; Miles Saved: 43,407.8)
  2. GSBS Architects (CO2 saved: 10.9 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 1,764; Miles Saved: 32,171.7)
  3. Dell Technologies-Utah (CO2 saved: 6.4 tons; Total Trips Eliminated: 560; Miles Saved: 15,941.8)

“Fidelity Investments has always enjoyed participating in the Clear the Air Challenge since its inception 14 years ago. We were proud to join in again with more than 300 new associates in the Utah region,” said Lori Smith, Utah regional leader, Fidelity Investments. “As one of the largest corporate citizens in the area, we support all Utahns through our associates, customers, and surrounding communities to help reduce our environmental emissions and carbon footprint leading to better air quality for all.” 

The Clear the Air Challenge Community Supporters included Breathe Utah, Envision Utah, GREENbike, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Utah Open Lands and Utah SBC (Small Business Council).

Thank you for a great Challenge!

The Clear the Air Challenge Needs You This Year!

Since 2009, participants in the Clear the Air Challenge have helped make a big difference in improving Utah’s air. But we need your help to make this year’s Challenge an even greater success. 

“Just as each of us contributes to emissions that lead to poor air quality, we all have an opportunity and responsibility to make a difference,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “We recognize that there are no perfect answers to keep our air clean, but there are practical solutions that can help us achieve meaningful results. By choosing to educate ourselves on the issue and reduce our impact we can improve our air quality.”

The 2023 Clear the Air Challenge begins in July. It is a month-long competition that gives Utahns the chance to reduce their vehicle emissions by choosing alternative methods of transportation using TravelWise strategies. It’s as easy as working remotely, carpooling, and using public transportation! By driving less and driving smarter, we will ultimately help improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion and conserve energy in Utah.

Our goal this year is to:

  • Reduce 375 tons of CO2
  • Eliminate 100,000 single-occupant trips
  • Save 2 million miles

Signing up for the Challenge takes less than two minutes, and together, it can have a big impact on our state. To help us meet our goals, encourage your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to join you for this year’s Challenge. Remember – even small changes can make a big difference. Sign up at cleartheairchallenge.org.

Why should you participate?

  • The Challenge startup toolkit and website are fantastic educational tools that can help you learn actionable steps to clear the air.
  • The Challenge gives Utahns a fun and competitive way to engage in TravelWise strategies – compete with your family, friends and co-workers!
  • Participants of the Challenge have the opportunity to win weekly prizes!

If you need help setting up your team and/or have questions in the meantime, please reach out to info@cleartheairchallenge.org. Let’s see how many pounds of emissions, gallons of gas and dollars we can save when we work together!

2022 Clear the Air Challenge Results Announced

Fidelity Investments and Dell Technologies Take Top Awards

Results are in for the 13th annual Clear the Air Challenge, hosted by the Salt Lake Chamber, TravelWise Utah and UCAIR, with perennial winners Fidelity Investments and Dell Technologies-Utah taking top honors. Numerous businesses and individuals participated in the annual competition to show their commitment to our environment and to raise public awareness of the importance of clean air.

“The Clear the Air Challenge is just one way to highlight how each of us can individually take steps to reduce the impact we have on our environment,” said Derek Miller, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Over the past month, participants have shown how easy it is to reduce our carbon footprint by using TravelWise strategies. By taking steps to reduce pollution, we can improve the health and quality of life of all who live and visit here. We applaud all participating teams and individuals for their collective efforts and for leading the way in improving our quality of life.”

The Clear the Air Challenge is a month-long initiative undertaken by business, government and community leaders that encourages Utah residents to drive less and drive smarter during the month of July. Participants help improve air quality by avoiding trips alone in their car and using TravelWise Strategies such as carpooling, teleworking, taking public transit, biking or trip chaining.

“With the Clear the Air Challenge’s transition to the summer, we were able to spotlight summer ozone issues,” said Kim Frost, Executive Director of the UCAIR – Utah Clean Air Partnership. “By providing education, we hope that Utahns will become more equipped to understand how air quality issues arise and what can be done to mitigate its effect. We congratulate this year’s top large and small teams for their dedication to our community and recognize their willingness to change habits and make this issue a priority.”

Collectively, this year’s participants eliminated 53,541 trips, saved 1,079,434.1 miles, 392.7 tons of CO2 and $0.6 million, and burned 1.4 million calories in just 31 days.

Top Large Teams:

  1. Fidelity Investments
  2. State of Utah
  3. University of Utah

Top Small Teams:

  1. Dell Technologies-Utah
  2. GSBS Architects
  3. Penna Powers

Top Participants:

  1. David Vasquez, State of Utah
  2. Alison Mortensen-Hayes, University of Utah
  3. Guinevere Timpson, State of Utah

ABOUT THE CLEAR THE AIR CHALLENGE

The Clear the Air Challenge, issued by business, government and community leaders, is a month-long competition starting February 1 that gives you the chance to reduce your vehicle emissions by choosing alternatives to driving alone. The Clear the Air Challenge is a partnership between the Salt Lake Chamber, TravelWise and UCAIR.

Clear the Air Challenge: Solutions to Economic Growth & Sustainability

The 2022 Clear the Air Challenge is a month-long initiative undertaken by business, government and community leaders that encourages Utah residents to drive less and drive smarter during the month of February.

“Poor air quality doesn’t just hinder the views of our beautiful mountains,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “It jeopardizes our health, and it hinders our ability to keep businesses and jobs coming to our state. Since each of us contributes to emissions that lead to poor air quality during inversions, we all have an opportunity and responsibility to make a difference.”

​​Transportation emissions are responsible for nearly fifty percent of the pollutants that make up Utah’s poor air quality. By driving smarter, we can protect our health, environment, economy and quality of life. For this reason, participants of the Clear the Air Challenge use TravelWise strategies like carpooling, using public transit, teleworking, trip chaining, walking and riding their bike or scooter to reduce their emissions and help clear Utah’s air.

“We recognize that there are no perfect answers to keep our air clean, but there are practical solutions,” said Thom Carter, Utah Clean Air (UCAIR) executive director. “These strategies represent many of the practical steps all of us can take to make a difference for our air. While the Clear the Air Challenge takes place for just one month, we hope it will provide Utahns the opportunity to start new habits and think about how their individual behaviors contribute to our air quality challenges.”

By encouraging employees to participate, businesses can create a team to make an even bigger impact. The Clear the Air Challenge begins July 1. Register your team of coworkers, family or friends at ClearTheAirChallenge.org and be part of the solution.