Hollywood has its Oscars. Broadway has its Tonys, and trucking has its Champions. Several SmartWay partners recently were recognized as Champions for the important contributions they’ve made in advancing innovative strategies that save fuel, reduce emissions and improve economic sustainability. Fleet Equipment joins the EPA in applauding these industry leaders.
Mitch England, corporate vice president at C.R. England Global Transportation, collaborated with SmartWay as it developed criteria for its certified trailer designation, by sharing information gathered from his company’s testing of, and field experiences with, aerodynamic technologies used with refrigerated trailers. This information was important since reefers can create challenges for some aerodynamic trailer designs. He has successfully incorporated SmartWay technologies and best practices into C.R. England’s fleet, resulting in an investment of over 2,800 SmartWay designated tractors.
Dave Guernsey is the senior sustainability program manager at UPS and has been actively engaged in SmartWay since its inception, providing input into the program’s development and encouraging UPS to join as a SmartWay Charter Partner. Guernsey often speaks on the economic and environmental benefits of sustainability and how the SmartWay program can help businesses to assess and reduce fuel use and emissions from freight shipping.
Dave Berry, vice president at Swift Transportation, was instrumental in encouraging his company to join SmartWay as a Charter Partner, helping to “test drive” the program’s initial tools and approaches. He has been responsible for replacing over 7,000 trailers and over 6,500 tractors in his fleet with fuel-saving, cleaner SmartWay designated vehicles.
Mark Servidio, vice president of logistics and environmental supply chain at Sharp Electronics, brought his company into the SmartWay Partnership in 2004. Since then, Sharp has instituted a no-idle policy at its delivery docks and has provided drivers with comfort stations to use while trailers are being unloaded, a practice that spread to many other businesses, saving fuel and cutting emissions.
Mike Kelley, chief sustainability officer and vice president of external affairs at YRC Worldwide, frequently uses his visibility as a representative of a Fortune 500 trucking company to encourage other business leaders in the freight industry to participate in SmartWay. He was instrumental in bringing his company to SmartWay as a Charter Partner and in helping shape the program’s initial design.
Glen Kedzie is vice president and environmental counsel for the American Trucking Associations, and has offered significant assistance in bringing national and state trucking associations and affiliated organizations into partnership with SmartWay. As a result, these groups have been able to better educate their members about improving environmental performance and reducing fuel consumption.
The Ikea transport team was among the first in the shipping community to include SmartWay participation as a factor in its company’s carrier selection. It continues to set a high bar by asking carriers to demonstrate top performance within the SmartWay program.
J.B. Hunt’s Gary Whicker and Kristi Noland were instrumental in their fleet’s investment in over 500 clean, fuel-saving SmartWay-designated trucks and technology upgrades. They also pioneered the extensive use of logistics solutions, including advanced routing and multi-modal options within their organization and across the freight transport sector.
Kraft Foods’ team of Harry Haney, Michael Cole and Timothy Dzojko initiated an incentive program aimed at smaller carriers to provide financial assistance to retrofit vehicles with new fuel-saving equipment. They also coordinated internally with senior logistics managers to integrate advanced logistics software into their transportation operations.
Lowe’s transportation team, Kevin Perry and Steve Palmer, lead the development of a program that brought their organization’s entire network of U.S. carriers into SmartWay, resulting in a significant influence on the environmental performance of hundreds of carriers. They also participated in a coalition of shippers, logistics companies and environmental groups that worked with SmartWay to reduce emissions of port drayage trucks.
Pepsico’s Mark Whittaker and John Sheehy were instrumental in bringing together shippers and carriers into a working group to share best practices and encourage participation in SmartWay to improve environmental performance. They also initiated and supported the development of an innovative incentive program to help small motor carriers retrofit older equipment with new, cleaner, energy-saving upgrades.
These are our SmartWay Champions. Congratulations to them all!
