Recently, we were given an update on some of SmartWay’s latest activities aimed at helping its partners decrease fuel use and emissions by Cheryl Bynum, a SmartWay Program manager. First is an ongoing effort to develop its assessment and tracking tools, which will present its partners with an improved system for quantifying and benchmarking their efficiency of moving goods. The improved system will provide carriers and shippers capability to better determine the total amount of their greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, their carbon footprint.
The Partnership technicians are currently beta testing an upgrade to the “freight logistics and environmental and energy tracking” tool, commonly known as the FLEET tool. FLEET is a key assessment tool used by SmartWay carriers to evaluate the effectiveness of a select group of technologies and operational practices that can reduce CO2, NOx and particulate emissions. The tool plays a critical role in helping carriers quantify their exhaust emissions and fuel use, thereby enabling them to establish goals to improve operating efficiencies.
In cooperation with current partners, they are refining the FLEET tool so that it will be able to accept more extensive information on fleet operations, in particular truck body types. This will allow fleets to more easily segment and assess the efficiency of different units within their businesses. In addition, they are improving the tool to allow more options for assessing vehicle activity data, so users will be able to determine detailed emission performance measurements.
They are also are moving forward with a new shipper tool that works with the carrier tool and provides better quantification for shipping and logistics strategies like reduced truck trips and modal choice. Several shipper partners have already looked at this new tool. The Partnership’s plan is to distribute the new procedure to all of its shipper partners early this year for beta testing and feedback.
Secondly, SmartWay remains active in reviewing a wide range of technology and equipment designed to meet the objectives of its finance and clean diesel programs. Trucks and equipment purchased with funds from the National Clean Diesel Emission Reduction program including idle reduction units, aerodynamic technologies, tires and retrofit upgrades must be reviewed and verified by EPA. The SmartWay technology group is responsible for reviewing tests and data from manufacturers requesting equipment verification. For example, in the past year, SmartWay has verified dozens of new low-rolling resistance tire models and designs of aerodynamic equipment.
As EPA’s clean diesel program continues to advance technologies and strategies that can help reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, SmartWay will continue to be responsible for technical support. They are also working with the Texas Transportation Institute to develop an improved procedure for evaluating idle reduction systems.
Finally, in response to a growing international interest in the SmartWay Partnership, they are assisting with projects in other countries that want to use SmartWay as a template to create comparable freight sustainability initiatives in their area of responsibility. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations are working to develop such initiatives globally. Increasingly, these groups view SmartWay as a model program, and they are seeking ways to mirror some of the Partnership’s procedures when possible. For example, the European Union is using its tools and methods in a pilot program to demonstrate the feasibility of a SmartWay platform in Europe. They’ve also been lending support to the Clean Air Initiative-Asia Center on a World Bank-funded pilot project to retrofit and reduce emissions from trucks operating in the heavily industrialized Guangdong Province in China.
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress SmartWay makes in these projects as well as the new technologies it verifies as able to provide a reduction in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.