The annual Bicycle-Friendly Business Awards recognize organizations large and small that have taken big steps to make it easier and more fun for their employees and the broader community to bike to work.
This year we congratulated four Bicycle-Friendly Business Awardees and 20 Honorable Mentions at the Bike to Work Day Press Conference on the steps of City Hall.
2015 Winners:
Epsilon: Large Business
Hipmunk: Medium Business
WaterSmart Software: Small Business
Asian Art Museum: Nonprofit
Honorable Mentions:
A2B, Adobe SF, Akamai, Essence Digital, Gensler SF, LinkedIn, Miami Ad School SF, Nektar, Nelson Nygaard, New Relic, Perkins + Will, Practice Fusion, Strava, Stride Health, Timbuk2, Twilio, Twitter, Veritable Vegetable, Webcor Builders, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., XYZ Graphics
We were impressed by the caliber and strength of the nominations, and honored that so many SF Bicycle Coalition members and supporters nominated their place of work. We asked this year’s winners how they separated themselves from the pack.
“If you don’t have a bike, we’ll help you build one right here in the office!” Brendan at Epsilon told us. “We partner with the San Francisco Yellow Bike Project to repurpose unwanted bikes, and their mechanics will help you build the bike at work. To promote this benefit, we also crowdsourced bike parts from the company and built a team bike and an interactive display showcasing where all the parts came from.”
Epsilon’s incentives for people to commute by bike also include free bike lockers, showers and tools for employees.
For Hipmunk, part of the secret is helping their employees out with bike gear. They provide employees who commute by bike $200 annually to spend on a bike, repairs, or other expenses related to bicycling.
“We want people to start their day and end their day in way that makes them feel good about themselves,” said Roxy at Hipmunk. “Whether employees bike to work for convenience, to get exercise or to make an environmental contribution, we want them to be happy.”
WaterSmart Software has a similar idea to help keep their employees rolling. At WaterSmart, employees receive free quarterly bike repair, in partnership with Sprocket Mobile Bike Repair.
“We are a mission-based company that provides a software solution and platform to help utilities educate and engage their customers on water use. We are also a certified B-Corp, which means we highly value social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency,” Ellisa at WaterSmart shared. “As part of this, we value decreasing our carbon footprint.
“Bicycling in San Francisco means fewer cars on the road and provides everyone with a great way to get exercise, see the city and have an easy mode of transportation,” Ellisa said.
Easing congestion matters to the folks at the Asian Art Museum as well. They cited overly busy roads and affordability as two of the big reasons they so eagerly encourage employees to ride their bikes to work.
“As a cultural anchor in the heart of the city, we care about the diverse local communities we strive to serve with memorable and educational art experiences,” Deborah at the Asian Art Museum told us. “More cyclists on our surrounding roads make the city feel safer, more liveable, and attractive to residents and tourists alike.”
The SF Bicycle Coalition is working hard every day to increase the number of people riding bikes, and couldn’t do it without the support of our 10,000+ members and leaders in the business community. Thank you to everyone who nominated a business for the 2015 Bicycle-Friendly Business Awards and congratulations to to Epsilon, Hipmunk, WaterSmart, the Asian Art Museum and all of our Honorable Mentions!
