SunPower team at their Richmond office.
Congratulations to the 2019 Bike-Friendly Businesses!
The East Bay is home to many bike-friendly businesses and each year Bike East Bay recognizes those that go the extra mile.
Alameda County Winner: Bolt Threads
The vision of Bolt Threads is to make better materials for a better world. Whether it’s replicating spider silk proteins or harnessing the power of mushroom cells to make leather alternatives, working with the environment is baked into their ethos. For Bolt Threads, encouraging employees to commute by bike is a natural fit.
Bolt Threads encourages employees to bike with a monthly commuter stipend, indoor bike parking, and individual yearly memberships to Bike East Bay. The Emeryville location means bike share stations, bike boulevards and protected bike lanes are just outside the Bolt Threads office door. For some employees like Patrick Johnson, Test Automation Engineer, support for biking has rekindled the feeling of joyfully riding as a child. Toby Sanderson, Director of Engineering, adds “having a bike definitely increases your lunch options.”
Contra Costa County Winner: SunPower
SunPower is serious when it comes to bicycling. The Richmond based office team is driven to win every Bike Month competition – and there’s more than one – between the other U.S. based offices. Winners are decided by the number of miles biked per person in each office, so recruiting other employees to ride is practically mandatory for those with their eye on the trophy prize.
But SunPower’s commitment to biking goes beyond interoffice mileage. Senior Program Manager Renée Solari points to the monthly commuter benefit, secure indoor bike parking, and the location along the Richmond waterfront specially chosen for it’s bike-friendly connectivity – a decision made even before the Ferry service opened earlier this year.
Mechanical Engineer Sushrut Bapat notes the group bike rides are encouraged at SunPower, and a great way to meet people on other teams within the company.
Learn how you can make your workplace more bike-friendly at BikeEastBay.org/Business
