New Bike Friendly Businesses — Texas Instruments, The World Bank Group, & More

If you like clean air and water, face it, this makes you an environmentalist. Bike-friendly businesses are an encouraging face of environmental support — for employees and customers alike. Our country is redefining ethics in transportation and energy sources. Rich and poor alike are affected by toxic fumes, bad water, dirty air, and dirty oil. So, in a time when bicycling is actively taking hold as a desired form of transit, even some Fortune 500 companies are showing their support. The League of American Bicyclists’ “Bike Friendly Business” program honors the businesses taking such action. It also provides technical assistance and information to help more companies and organizations adapt in supportive ways for bicyclists.

It’s great to see that big businesses are improving their corporate environmental faces, along with many small businesses and large universities, to transform our world for the better. The Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) program has now spread out to 44 states and Washington, DC, as reported by Liz Murphy of The League of American Bicyclists (LAB). Murphy also shares, “On this Earth Day, the League of American Bicyclists announced 63 new Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFB) from across the country that are leading America toward a greener future.”

BFB acknowledge and creates changes in order to convert the American workplace and validate bicycle-friendly atmospheres for employees and customers. Improving lines of support for customers and workers who want to bicycle, businesses also become more in vogue in the process.

Image Credit: shanerh (some rights reserved)
Bikers outside a bike-friendly business? Image Credit: shanerh (some rights reserved)

The environment changes, situations change, people change, and business changes. Setting the style of change, BFBs lead others into healthier business practices.

“More and more business leaders are realizing that bicycling is a simple and cost-effective way to move toward a more productive company,” says Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “Promoting healthy transportation is increasingly attractive to employers and prospective employees – and it’s moving America toward a more sustainable future.”

Murphy also points out, “Through cost-effective investments, BFBs attract, reward and retain staff that are not only healthier and happier, but more productive, driven and passionate about the work they do and the communities they live in.”

Award winners in this latest round of awardees include:

  • Texas Instruments Inc. (Bronze)
  • Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis. (Moved from Silver to Gold)
  • The World Bank Group (Moved from Bronze to Silver)
  • Peace Corps, Seattle and Chicago offices (Bronze)

Click here for the full list of BFB awardees.

 

Texas Instruments, a new Bronze-level BFB, really picked up a nice pace in working to improve its support for bicyclists. Working with local government, it secured funding and a 35-mile trail came into being. Wow. If more businesses had this kind of good intention — how rapidly our country would see a change. This route offered employees the ability to bike safely to work and to improve their own vitality and health.

Murphy also shares, “TI also has employee representation on the City of Dallas Bicycle Advisory Committee as it updates the Dallas Bike Plan.”

“Texas Instruments sees great value in supporting alternative commuting solutions for employees. We’ve invested resources to build bike paths that connect to local trails, added bike racks, repair stations and on-site showers, and created social networks that support TI bike commuters,” says David Thomas, Vice President of Worldwide Facilities at TI. “We want to make it easy for our existing bike commuters to get to work safely and to encourage more employees to try biking to work. We continually seek new ways to educate, encourage and engage employees in safe bike commuting.”

To apply or learn more about the free BFB program, visit the League online at bikeleague.org/businesses.

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