LOS ANGELES - CALSTART (www.calstart.org), a provider in advanced transportation technologies consortium, recently presented winners with its prestigious 2008 Blue Sky Award.

The annual awards recognize outstanding marketplace contributions to clean air, energy efficiency and to the clean transportation industry overall by companies, organizations, and individuals. California Energy Commissioner Jim Boyd presented the awards. The 2008 winners were selected as the top firms and individuals from among several dozens nominated internationally for their market leadership and real actions in advanced and green transportation. A special awards ceremony and luncheon honored the winners.

“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 Goteborg 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 15,000 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.

Winners’ Reactions:

“We are pleased to receive this distinguished honor from CALSTART,” said Alexander M. Cutler, Eaton chairman and chief executive officer. “Eaton customers worldwide are achieving improved efficiencies and important emissions and fuel consumption savings with our hybrid power systems. We see significant opportunities for further application of both hybrid electric and hybrid hydraulic solutions, and we will continue to work with our partners to expand the use of these technologies.”

“This is great honor for us and our bio methane industry Göteborg Region and in Sweden,” said the chairman of Business Region Göteborg, Göran Johansson, who is also the Mayor of Göteborg. “To be highlighted by such an organization as CALSTART is really important for us and will contribute to a breakthrough worldwide for bio methane,” said Göran Värmby, Business Region Göteborg and Chairman of Biogas West.

“As demand for clean natural gas for transportation grows, especially at the ports, Southern Counties Express is poised to provide reliable and affordable fueling solutions for our own trucks and we are pleased to ensure that all trucks serving the ports have access to this fueling station as well. Thank you for recognizing our work,” Southern Counties Express’ president Brian Griley, said.

"Union Pacific is committed to moving freight safely and more efficiently to reduce the environmental impact on the communities in which we operate," said Jim Young, chairman and CEO, Union Pacific. "We are honored to receive The Blue Sky Merit Award for work on the Genset locomotive and other environmental efforts which reflect our employees' vision and creativity in generating solutions that have a long-term positive impact on the transportation industry."

“Our members are leading the way when it comes to smart urban living,” said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar. “By making the environmentally and community conscious choice to use car sharing, Zipcar members are eliminating private vehicles and reducing personal vehicle miles traveled (VMT), saving millions of gallons of gasoline annually.”

For more information on CALSTART, visit www.calstart.org.