YONKERS, NY — Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports and www.ConsumerReports.org, announced today that it has signed on as a “Clean Air Champion” through New York State Department of Transportation’s Clean Air NY initiative. CU is the second Champion in New York State and the first organization in the Hudson Valley region to do so.

    Clean Air NY (www.cleanairny.org) is a network of individuals, employers, employees and community organizations in the New York metro area committed to the idea that every person can help improve air quality.

    Clean Air Champions agree to notify employees on Air Quality Action Days and take additional steps to make a greater impact in improving air quality. Champions and other employer partners encourage their employees to combine errands into one trip to reduce carbon emissions, utilize mass transit, bike, walk, or share a ride by carpooling to work. The state hopes that these changes will help make New York’s air quality cleaner and healthier.

    “Consumers Union’s mission is to make a difference in the lives of consumers around the country. The Clean Air NY initiative will help CU improve the lives of people living in the Hudson Valley area while also improving local air quality,” said Dan Franklin, Director of Labor Relations/Employee Communications for Consumers Union.

    Consumers Union is deeply committed to providing its employees with greener commuting options. The organization promotes these options to its employees through e-mail messages and on its intranet, as well as on-site events.

    In recent years, CU has been working with MetroPool, a local nonprofit transportation management organization, to help its employees choose more sustainable commuting options that reduce pollution.

    Last year, CU started a Guaranteed Ride Home program that provides employees who carpool, take public transportation, or bike to work with up to three emergency rides home per year.

    CU also has a shuttle that takes employees to nearby train and subway stations, so they don’t have to drive to work.

    Poor air quality is a serious, ongoing problem. In a survey conducted by the New York State Department of Transportation in June 2006, about 42 percent of New Yorkers reported that someone in their family experiences negative health effects from air pollution.