San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition Receives Top Awards for Reducing Petroleum Consumption

From left: Dennis Smith National Clean Cities Director, US Department of Energy, Bill Zeller, San Francisco Clean Cities Coordinator, and Linda Bluestein, National Clean Cities Co-Director

On October 16, the US Department of Energy’s Clean Cities initiative recognized SF Environment’s San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition for its work reducing petroleum consumption in San Francisco.

San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition received two awards and an honorable mention:

• Top Award for Per-Capita Petroleum Displacement (34.6 GGE*/person)
• Top Award for Greatest Displacement of Petroleum Using Electricity (10.2 million GGE)
• Honorable Mention for Top Overall in Vehicle Miles Traveled (4.2 million GGE)

The coalition received especially high marks for the Petroleum Displaced Using Electricity award by displacing 10.2 million GGE (leading the next best coalition by 8.7 million GGE).

Clean Cities presented these awards to SF Environment’s Bill Zeller, who leads the San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition, at its annual Clean Cities Peer Exchange and Vehicle Technology Deployment Workshop. The workshop recognizes local coalitions for their outstanding contribution to reducing the use of petroleum in the US.

“San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition has been working since 1994 to reduce petroleum use in San Francisco. These efforts not only protect our environment but also save our city money. We look forward to continuing this work so we can reach even higher limits in years to come,” said Zeller.

When Zeller first started as the San Francisco Clean Cities Coordinator in 2011, he noticed that some stakeholders were underreporting their petroleum reduction rates, so he began calling stakeholders to update their accomplishments. The coalition was so successful that the magnitude of the increase triggered an audit by the US Department of Energy. At the conclusion of the audit,  the coalition was awarded an additional 2 million gallons of petroleum reduction. The increased accuracy of reporting was integral in the coalition receiving this year’s Clean Cities awards. 

Clean Cities is the US Department of Energy’s alternative transportation deployment initiative. Founded in 1993, Clean Cities advances the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local actions to reduce petroleum consumption in transportation.

San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition is one of nearly 100 local coalitions across the nation working with Clean Cities. A program of SF Environment, the coalition is composed of a volunteer group of public, private, and non-profit stakeholders. The Coalition works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to reduce petroleum use in transportation.

*A GGE is a Gasoline Gallon Equivalent which is a standard unit of measure for transportation fuel