Riders and Staff Offset Over 155,000 Pounds of Carbon Emissions

Team TIBCO aims not only to win races, but also to set a positive example of environmental sustainability. As part of Team TIBCO’s Blue Planet Campaign, racers and staff contributed a substantial portion of prize earnings to reduce the team’s carbon footprint this season. The team worked with Elemental Action LLC to track emissions and to purchase offsets from Clif Bar’s Cool Tags program, which supports clean energy projects that curb carbon emissions and combat climate change.

To date, the team has offset over 155,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, over three quarters of the team’s total carbon footprint for the season, or the equivalent of removing 17 cars from the road for an entire year.

TIBCO’s Head Mechanic Steven Sperling sees the team’s environmental initiative as a natural fit. “It seems pretty silly when you think of how much gas we use to follow a bike race, or to get from each race to the next, so offsetting our emissions just makes sense.”

Team TIBCO belongs to a growing community of environmentally minded partners in the cycling industry, including Pedros, who recently launched the Pedros Carbon Neutral Support program, giving away compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs at races to reduce the carbon footprint of the races they support. CFLs demand 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs and save 1600 lbs of carbon per bulb from entering the atmosphere.

In addition to acting on the team’s commitment to mitigate climate change, the Team TIBCO Blue Planet Campaign provides online resources for fans and cycling enthusiasts who wish to become more involved with environmental initiatives. To learn more about the Team TIBCO Blue Planet Campaign, or to check out available resources, visit http://www.teamtibco.com/blueplanet.html.

Team TIBCO Women’s Cycling is a professional cycling program devoted to fostering the success of elite women cyclists in national and international competition with a focus on developing contenders for the Olympic Games. For further information about the TIBCO Blue Planet Campaign or to schedule an interview with a representative from Team TIBCO, please e-mail Amber Rais at amber@teamtibco.com.