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HIGH POINT, N.C. — Thomas Built Buses was recently awarded a 2011 North Carolina Mobile Clean Air Renewable Energy (CARE) award in the category of Technology/Fuel Provider.  

The company was lauded for operating the nation's first zero-waste-to-landfill school bus manufacturing facility and for producing both compressed natural gas and hybrid-electric school buses.

The North Carolina Mobile CARE awards were created in 2006 to recognize outstanding individuals and organizational efforts at reducing transportation-related emissions.

The North Carolina Solar Center/North Carolina State University, with support from the state Department of Transportation, organized the fifth annual North Carolina Mobile CARE awards as part of the Clean Fuel Advanced Technology Project.

Candidates in four categories — Individual, Fleet, Technology/Fuel Provider and Policy/Organization — were sought and after evaluating more than two dozen nominations, the judges narrowed the winners to six. Some of the criteria the judges used to make their decision included:

• Expanding educational opportunities
• Conducting outreach
• Changing policies
• Length of involvement in alternative fuel/vehicle activities
• Perceived risk related to involvement
• Diversity of strategies/technologies employed