Our Success Story of the week showcases the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan and their Green Fleets Program. Started in 2004, the program’s initial goal was to reduce the municipal fleet’s gas and diesel use by 10% before 2012. They achieved that in half the time and then set their sights higher:  to use 30% renewable energy across all municipal operations by 2010, and they are meeting that goal, too.

ANDREW BRIX: It’s important for the City of Ann Arbor to green its fleet to help us fight climate change first of all, but the bigger impact is we get to use fuels that are produced here in Michigan and in the U.S., and that keeps money in the local economy.

Ann Arbor’s fleet uses a wide variety of clean alternative fuels, including E85, Compressed Natural Gas, and up to 50% blends of Biodiesel. They are also field testing this hybrid electric lift truck and plan to buy two of them. Ann Arbor is showing that even a small city fleet can make a big environmental statement.

For more information, please visit the Clean Cities website. You can also view recent segments by clicking here.