Los Angeles County government, Southern California's largest employer, may soon join a burgeoning trend that entices workers to give up their gas-guzzling cars for more environmentally friendly ones.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors asked its staff to come up with ways to encourage the county's 90,000 commuting employees -- about 90% of the workforce -- to buy and drive so-called green cars, such as hybrids partly fueled by electricity or other high mileage, low emission vehicles. Some hybrids get up to 50 miles per gallon.
The idea, suggested by Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, is part of a larger county push to reduce its environmental footprint. It also addresses the state's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas production.
With federal tax breaks for hybrid buyers waning and the state out of permits granting them access to carpool lanes, Burke said, the county needs to up the incentive ante.
"It's good government," Burke said. "We all have such a responsibility to try and cut down on energy use."
So, what would it take to make the supervisors themselves trade in the Cadillacs, Chryslers and Buicks they now use to commute to work?
"Not very much," said Burke, who drives a six-cylinder Chrysler 300. "I really like the way the Prius looks, and if I could make sure that I have access to electricity or to the fuel source, I'd be fine."
(In fact, the Prius, made by Toyota, automatically recharges its battery and runs on regular gasoline.)
Employee transportation incentives are not new, but green-car-related incentives are, according to Kellie McElhaney, adjunct professor of corporate responsibility at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
In the last year, young cause-minded workers and a growing awareness of global warming have prompted some companies to offer such perks. Now, green-car incentives -- from purchasing programs to parking discounts -- have sprouted up among private companies, nonprofits, universities and governments.
"We think of branding as something a company does for customers, but they also do it for their employees," said McElhaney. "This is great branding for L.A. County -- it dovetails with California's stance on trying to be a state focused on global warming.
"I'm not aware of any other county doing this," she added.
