In the summer of 2011, San Francisco earned the title “greenest major city” in a study comparing the policies and performance of 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities in nine categories: environmental governance, air quality, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy, buildings, land use, transport, waste, and water use. Continuing its green leadership role, San Francisco will host EV Week beginning Sept. 17 at Justin Herman Plaza, just across from the city’s historic Ferry Building. EV Week is sponsored by PG&E, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Ecotality.
Events are free to the general public and employers can sign up to participate in “ride and drives” of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles (EV). Activities scheduled September 17-18 are designed to engage consumers, local businesses and large employers in a fun and informative exposition.
Events will showcase manufacturers and companies within the industry and provide information on owning, leasing, and sharing EVs. Visitors will learn about the FAST CHARGE infrastructure for residential neighborhoods, private commercial buildings, and public spaces in San Francisco, and how to locate charging stations.
Charge Across Town, is an educational campaign to get citizens and businesses involved in the new transportation revolution to reduce the greatest source of CO2 emissions in the city — cars and trucks. Charge Across Town has developed partnerships between the EV community, city government and local businesses to advance the adoption of EVs and to educate consumers on the benefits of owning and sharing an electric vehicle. The campaign is advancing the EV infrastructure by incentivizing residential and commercial property owners to install a network of charging stations throughout the city.
Providing a model for the nation, San Francisco has reduced its CO2 emissions below 1990 levels and continues to work toward becoming a zero-waste community. The sponsors of EV Week hope to help the city reach its goal and to provide clean energy jobs for California’s future.
