Local businesses are being encouraged to be more aware of their idling vehicles.

The Idle Free Business program officially got underway on June 8, also known as Clean Air Day at the Red Deer Public Library Downtown Branch.

The program encourages local businesses and institutions to avoid having their fleet and other vehicles run unnecessarily.

This is one of the City’s actions towards achieving the Environmental Master Plan’s goal to improve air quality and reduce emissions.

“Going idle free is good for business. It saves money and fuel and demonstrates community leadership,” said Lauren Maris, project lead. “By implementing these initiatives to reduce idling, the City is taking a proactive approach to improve local air quality and further reduce green house gas emissions as outlined in the Environmental Master Plan.”

An online toolkit is now available at www.reddeer.ca/idlefree that offers a variety of sample signage, newsletter articles, power point presentations and policies to help businesses get started. The toolkit will also feature stories from local organizations who have already taken steps to be idle free, such as ATCO, Lafarge and Red Deer Catholic Regional Division.

“This is a natural progression towards a more environmentally friendly Red Deer,” said Maris. “We hope that not only businesses in Red Deer but residents and even other municipalities in the region take the lead and do all they can to reduce the impact our daily routines have on the environment.”

For more information on idle free Red Deer, please visit www.reddeer.ca/idlefree.

– Fawcett