“Companies and individuals have extraordinary power to make a difference,” said Godfrey Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Hyperion, in announcing the initiative. “One of the most important steps an individual can take to improve the quality of our air is to drive a vehicle that goes further on a gallon or liter of gas. One of the most important steps a company can take is to help them.”
The 45-mpg standard, which is approximately 5.3 litres per 100 kilometres, results in dramatically less carbon dioxide emissions when compared to the vast majority of gasoline-powered vehicles. The standard also is achievable by fuel-efficient vehicles using technologies such as hybrid, diesel and electric that increasingly are available in most of the
countries in which Hyperion does business.
Carbon dioxide emissions from personal vehicles are a major cause of poor air quality in industrialized nations. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States pumps about 22 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere per person every year, with Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom each at about half that level. Switching from a car that gets 20 mpg to one that gets 45 mpg can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as three tons per person per year.
“We know we are not necessarily going to change the world through this initiative, but we aim to get people thinking about change,” said Sullivan. “Drive Clean to Drive Change is not just a good thing to do. It’s the right thing to do.”
Other Benefits of Driving Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
Slows global warming
Scientists studying the effects of personal vehicle emissions on the environment agree that carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas and that changes in the levels of greenhouses gases in Earth’s atmosphere are a major cause of global warming. Global warming – an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature that has been recorded since the late 19th century and that has accelerated over the past two decades – could result in problems such as more severe weather events, more forest fires and damage to our water resources.
Levels of several important greenhouse gases have increased by about 25 percent since large-scale industrialization began around 150 years ago. During the past 20 years, about three-quarters of human-made carbon dioxide emissions were from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
Saves oil
Countries that depend on private vehicles to travel relatively long distances, such as the United States and Canada, consume the largest amount of oil for transportation. The 290 million people who live in the United States, for example, make up just five percent of the world’s population, but consume 25 percent of the world’s oil supply. The United States also
consumes almost nine million barrels of gasoline each day – 43 percent of the world’s total gasoline consumption.
According to industry sources, if fuel economy in the United States were improved by just five mpg, American consumers would save 1.5 million barrels of oil per day – more than half of what the United States imports from the Middle East alone.
Innovative Initiative Design
Under the Drive Clean to Drive Change initiative, employees who have been with Hyperion one year or longer can seek reimbursement for one vehicle every four years. Hyperion is aiming to reimburse up to 200 employees each year; reimbursements are available to employees on a first come, first served basis.
Hyperion is launching the Drive Clean to Drive Change initiative immediately. To help other companies that would like to create similar initiatives for their employees, Hyperion will share what it has learned, including best practices, through its newly formed Companies for Clean Air Consortium. More information about the Drive Clean to Drive Change initiative and the Companies for Clean Air Consortium is available on the Web at www.hyperion.com/driveclean
Sullivan said the Drive Clean to Drive Change program reflects Hyperion’s culture and its commitment to the communities in which it does business. “Employees can be as proud of our culture as they are of our software,” said Sullivan.
About Hyperion
Hyperion is the global leader in Business Performance Management software. More than 9,000 customers – including 91 of the Fortune 100 – rely on Hyperion software to translate strategies into plans, monitor execution and provide insight to improve financial and operational performance. Hyperion combines the most complete set of interoperable applications with the leading Business Intelligence platform to support and create Business
Performance Management solutions. A network of more than 600 partners provides the company’s innovative and specialized solutions and services. Named one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For 2004, Hyperion employs approximately 2,500 people in 20 countries. Distributors represent Hyperion in an additional 25 countries. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Hyperion generated annual revenues of $622 million for the 12
months that ended June 30, 2004. Hyperion is traded under the Nasdaq symbol HYSL Hyperion is traded under the Nasdaq symbol HYSL.
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