CALSTART — a North American transportation technologies consortium — announced the winners of its Blue Sky Award 2008. The annual awards recognize outstanding marketplace contributions to clean air, energy efficiency and to the clean transportation industry overall by companies, organizations and individuals.

The 2008 winners were selected as the top firms and individuals from among several dozen nominated internationally for their market leadership and real actions in advanced and green transportation. A special awards ceremony and luncheon will honor the winners June 10.

“This year’s Blue Sky Award winners represent the best in our expanding industry: taking real actions with real products to improve air quality, combat global warming, ensure our energy security and create sustainable jobs,” said CALSTART President and CEO John Boesel.

The Blue Sky Award 2008 winners are:

• Eaton Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, won the Blue Sky Award for being the world’s first in developing and bringing to market both hybrid electric and hybrid hydraulic systems for medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

• Business Region Göteborg of Sweden, won the Charles R. Imbrecht Blue Sky Innovation Award for catalyzing Sweden’s use of biomethane as a renewable transportation fuel now powering 4,500 natural gas cars, trucks and buses and a commuter train.

• Southern Counties Express Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award for buying a fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) port trucks and operating an LNG fueling station that is publicly available to the port trucking community.

• Union Pacific Railroad Co. of Omaha, Neb., won a Blue Sky Merit Award for the development, procurement and deployment of more than 150 ultra-low emitting “Genset” multi-engine diesel switching locomotives.

• ZipCar of San Francisco, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award for its car-sharing program and its impact on the environment, reduction of parking demands, lessening of traffic congestion and greenhouse emissions.

The Blue Sky Award Judging Committee is made up of representatives from the American Lung Association, CALSTART, Florida Power & Light, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern California Edison and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

CALSTART is a participant-supported organization of more than 150 firms and organizations worldwide, dedicated to expanding and supporting a high-tech transportation industry that cleans the air, creates jobs, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves energy efficiency.

For more information, visit www.calstart.org.

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