ACTIVITY: clear the junk from your trunk challenge
Every pound of extra weight requires an auto to work harder, and thus consume more fuel. For every 100 pounds of extra weight, efficiency is reduced by up to 2%.*
For this activity, break employees into teams (or designate each department as a team.) Challenge everyone to go through their vehicles and trunks after they get home that day and remove any unnecessary items that are adding weight. We’ve provided you with a list of items that are commonly “stored” in vehicles and the estimated weight associated with each. There are blank lines to add things not found on the list. The activity coordinator should assess points to any items not on the list provided. Add up the total estimated weight of the items removed for each team.
If teams are uneven, you can divide the total weight for items removed by the number of people on the team to get an average.
Who wins? You decide! Is it the team that removed the MOST weight from their vehicles, or the team that removed the LEAST (and was thus driving more efficiently to begin with?) This will work best if you don’t let them know beforehand!
* U.S. Department of Energy
download pdf tally sheet with list of common items and estimated weights (132kb) »
ACTIVITY: get there together car pool challenge
Offer a “jeans day” and a “no working late mandate” as well as preferred parking, if applicable, to employees that car pool to work on this day.
Take it a step further…
Hold a challenge between groups or departments. Using a mapping software such as Google Maps or MapQuest (to determine exact mileage) and a designated average for fuel economy, estimate the amount of fuel saved per team due to car pooling that day. If there’s a budget available, consider offering pizza to the winning group.
Take it a step even further…
Do you have more than one office location or branch offices? Issue a challenge to see which location can conserve the most fuel by using employee car pools. Consider posting the challenge and results on your company website, blog, or Intranet.
Suggested Daily Messages
Shed Weight Without Dieting
Are you carrying around extra weight? (We’re talking about your car, not your waistline.) Every pound of extra weight requires an auto to work harder. You can shed 25 pounds effortlessly just by taking the golf clubs out of your trunk. Clear the junk from your trunk…lighten your load…your car will thank you with better fuel economy. This week and every week:DRIVE FOCUSED. DRIVE SMART. GET HOME SAFELY.
You CAN Make a Difference
According to EcoDrivingUSA.com, if just half of all drivers nationwide practiced moderate levels of green driving, annual CO2 emissions could be reduced by about 100 million tons, or the equivalent of heating and powering 8.5 million households. DRIVE FOCUSED. DRIVE SMART. GET HOME SAFELY.