Happy Anniversary! It’s been five years since theEnvironmental Protection Agency launched the SmartWay Partnership. And it’sbeen a win-win situation for everyone involved. Both fleets and shippers havesaved money. The public has cleaner air and the country has reduced itsdependence on imported petroleum. Specifically, the program is annually savingnearly 700 million gallons of diesel fuel and preventing the formation of oversix million metric tons of carbon-dioxide and other emissions that contributeto climate change.
Moreover, the SmartWay Partnership has grown very rapidlyover the last year as more and more fleets and shippers become aware of theadvantages of participation in this time of unpredictable fuel costs, economicuncertainty and the growing social desire to decrease greenhouse emissions.Notably, SmartWay more than doubled in size this past year––from 700 partners ayear ago to more than 1,400 today.
Included on the new member roster are three trailermanufacturers and Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS), a supplier of all-plastic pallets, all ofwhich come with embedded radio frequency identification tags. “Sustainabilityand concern for our environment are core underpinnings of our company, sojoining the SmartWay Partnership makes total sense for us,” said Bob Moore, CEOof iGPS. “This is a superb program, with real results, and we’re proud to be apart of it.”
iGPS also offers an excellent example of how, as a SmartWayShipper Partner, a company can help Carrier Partners in the system save fueland decrease emissions. Moore said, “We make every effort to ship our palletson carriers who also participate in the SmartWay Partnership by employingadvanced practices that reduce fuel usage and emissions.” This translates tomoney saved and reduced environmental impacts.
A shipper’s SmartWay Score is primarily a function of thecarriers it uses. In general, the better the environmental performance of itsservice providers, the higher its SmartWay score will be. The score iscalculated by multiplying the percent of freight it ships with each serviceprovider by their SmartWay Shipper Index Factor score, and then summing theresults from all providers. If its SmartWay score is .50 or higher, the ShipperPartner can use the SmartWay Partner logo.
Manac Inc., Stoughton and Vanguard have joined Great Dane,Hyundai Translead, Trailmobile Canada, Utility, and Wabash as trailermanufacturers that have signed licensing agreements with EPA to produce andmarket SmartWay certified products. Any new or upgraded 53-ft. base model orlonger dry box van trailer may qualify for SmartWay certification provided itis equipped with a combination of approved technologies: trailer side skirtfairings, front gap fairing or rear fairing, low rolling resistance tiresand/or low-weight aluminum wheels.
Tractor and trailer manufacturers with SmartWay licensingagreements agree to spec out at least one of their vehicle models with a seriesof aerodynamic features, low rolling resistance tires, clean engines, and idlereduction options designed to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. ASmartWay certified Class 8 tractor-trailer combination truck is at least 10%—afigure that can go as high as 20%––more fuel-efficient than a comparable truckwithout these fuel-saving features.
Interested in joining the SmartWayTransport Partnership? Call them at (734) 214-4767 or visit the website: www.epa.gov/smartway.
