Partnership To Improve Environment
Oliver B.Patton
Washington Editor
The trucking industry and the Environmental Protection Agency have what can be described as an adversarial relationship. Last year's engine emission rules, for example, were just the most recent in a history of bruising encounters between regulator and regulatee.
But now there's a new, more harmonious tune in the air. EPA has joined with leading trucking companies and shippers in a voluntary program to reduce harmful emissions, save money and improve the image of the industry.
"America has always counted on the freight industry to deliver the goods — in joining this Partnership, you will deliver them in a new, smarter way," EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt said as he introduced the program at the American Trucking Assns. winter meeting in early February.
The SmartWay Transport Partnership promotes environmentally advantageous business practices by offering an EPA seal of approval to carriers and shippers that take steps to reduce greenhouse gases. So far, 49 trucking companies and shippers have signed on to the program.
The fuel-reduction strategies promoted by the program are well known: cut engine idling, use aerodynamic equipment, eliminate empty miles, keep tires properly inflated and train drivers in fuel-saving techniques. Shippers are encouraged to employ intermodal transportation, provide comfort stations for drivers so they don't have to keep their engines running, assemble full loads and give SmartWay carriers preferential loading and unloading times.
What's new is the method for keeping track of the program's benefits. EPA and a dozen or so charter partners developed a performance model called Fleet Logistics Environmental and Energy Tracking (FLEET). The model calculates the quantity of greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide and particulate matter, for example — produced by a company, and then comes up with an efficiency score that shows the carrier's improvement over time. EPA said this information is derived from data that most fleets already keep track of — number and type of trucks, mileage, idling time, equipment specifications.
Shippers will get an efficiency score as well, based on which carriers they use, how much freight each carrier gets and how far the freight is shipped — information that EPA will keep confidential.
To become a SmartWay Transport Partner, a carrier must commit to an environmental improvement goal over a three-year period. Partners who achieve superior performance may use the SmartWay logo in their advertising and marketing materials. Shippers become partners by improving their emissions and committing to ship 50% of their goods with SmartWay carriers within three years. They can use the logo when they achieve the 50% goal.
The agency expects that the model will create a standard way to measure emissions from the freight transportation business, and that more carriers and shippers will aspire to be known as good environmental citizens. The goal is to save 150 million barrels of oil each year, cut up to 66 million metric tons of CO2 each year by 1012, and eliminate 200,000 tons of NOx each year.
"This is an ideal partnership," said Dave Berry, vice president of Swift Transportation, a charter partner. Carriers who sign on can cut their fuel costs, and gain recognition for contributing to a cleaner environment, he said. "What a proud day this is to be a trucker in the United States."
For some shippers, the program may become a prerequisite. For example, Troy Rice, senior vice president of operations at The Home Depot, noted that his company now requires its lumber suppliers to meet specific environmental standards. The hint was clear that trucking suppliers may be next.
Besides Swift, the charter partners are Canon USA, CSX Transportation, Coca-Cola Enterprises, FedEx Express, H-E-B, The Home Depot, IKEA North America, Interface, Nike, Norm Thompson Outfitters, Roadway Express, Schneider National and UPS.
For more information on the program, go to www.epa.gov/smartway. The email address is smartway_transport@epa.gov. Or call (734) 214-4767.
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