A lot of good things happened when Penske Truck Leasing joined EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, not the least of which was that the company learned that both of its operating groups, Penske Logistics and its truck rental operations, already qualified for the Partnership’s highest performance score. They did so because both previously had been using many of the commercially available fuel saving strategies and actively evaluating the latest fleet technologies.
Joe Moleski, a 25-year Penske veteran and the company’s newly appointed vice president of sustainability, says, “When I first came into my new position, one of the initial opportunities that we saw was to become active in the SmartWay Program. We worked with the folks at EPA to determine how best we could participate. From there it just took off. As a company, we’ve had a long-standing commitment to the environment. When we set out to define our mission statement, protecting the environment was included as one of the most important aspects of our corporate objectives.”
Penske’s participation in the SmartWay Partnership is multifaceted. Penske Logistics, which operates over 2,000 vehicles is a carrier partner. Moleski says, “We have challenged ourselves to understand how we operate that fleet today and to find opportunities to improve fuel efficiencies. We have already reduced our operating speed from 65 to 63 MPH. We already had idling control strategies in place but found that we could do an even better job in that regard. We’re also looking at trailer aerodynamics –– trailer skirts and tail technology –– and weight reduction –– the use of smaller aluminum fuel tanks –– on over-the-road tractors.”
Another facet of Penske’s participation is through its extensive truck rental activities. It is through these that the company will be introducing its many customers to the SmartWay Partnership and providing them insight into the benefits of the Partnership. Moleski says, “We will work with them to help them better utilize the tools the EPA has developed and to help them become a smarter fleet by cutting unnecessary idling and incorporating other cost saving measures. We have the opportunity to work with our customers in their efforts to improve their environmental stewardship. We can provide them assistance that complements their commitment to the environment.”
As part of this effort, Penske is currently holding a series of open house events across the country to introduce its participation in the SmartWay Partnership to customers and displaying SmartWay certified vehicles like the Freightliner Cascadia with a Detroit Diesel DD15 engine as well as a new show trailer.
A final facet of Penske’s environment stewardship efforts is a result of its extensive operating facilities. Moleski says, “We operate over 700 locations throughout the country, and we want to give thought as to how we can make them more energy efficient and strive for increased sustainability.”
Participation by a transportation company the size of Penske Truck Leasing in the SmartWay Partnership can result in many benefits. The company itself wins through more economical operations. Its customers win through the use of EPA proven technology, and all of us win because we’ll have cleaner air to breath. Moleski says, “We are very pleased to be a part of SmartWay. As you can see, we are already working to drive a number of internal initiatives designed to help our customers meet their environmental goals and fuel cost and emission savings while working toward our own commitments to operate even more responsibly as it relates to the environment. We are already working with the OEMs on the next generation of engines for 2010. Our goal is to not only meet environmental regulations but to go beyond them.”
