SmartWay Transport Partnership

The SmartWay program was initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help freight carriers, shippers and logistics companies establish green, money saving goals. The program is for smaller and larger companies alike.

SmartWay comes recommended by Edgar Blanco, a professor at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His team helps companies of all sizes to implement more efficient logistic strategies.

Here’s how
Blanco warns companies against implementing logistics programs out of fear. A contemplated strategy is what it takes. Begin by measuring your fuel usage and defining and goals. Identify the current amount spent on fuel, number of miles driven, or fuel economy status. Various ways can lead towards the goal: reduce miles driven, improve fuel efficiency, reduce the number of drivers on the road, or combine measures.

Start small, monitoring tire pressure, tracking mileage, and identifying the shortest routes for drivers, then move into programs that require some investment. That could be the installation of auxiliary power units (APUs) in diesel trucks. They warm or cool the cabin and sleeping compartments and can power small appliances on breaks instead of by running the engine.

It all adds up.

Right size
Xerox set a great example of saving a lot by small measures well worth copying. The company saved the most by its so-called 'right-size program’: finding the right vehicle for each driver. Many technicians didn't need the storage capacity of the passenger vans they were driving and could move to a more fuel efficient sedan. Some cargo van drivers were put in passenger vans. Within a year, 5 per cent of drivers were moved to smaller vehicles.

Another lucrative measure, was to start using GPS systems to send technicians to the closest clients.

Here’s why
Freight carrying accounts for 20 per cent of all energy consumed in the transport sector. Two thirds of all freight shipped in the US goes by truck, about 16 per cent by rail. Together, truck and rail transport consume over 35 billion gallons of diesel each year.

SmartWay’s aim is to help companies to save up to a total of 150 million barrels of oil annually. By 2012, this could reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 33-66 million metric tons per year and NOx emissions by up to 200,000 tons.

Threefold focus
The focus is on reducing all unnecessary engine idling, increasing the efficiency and use of rail and intermodal operations, and creating partnerships.

Reduced idling
Long-duration truck and locomotive engine idling costs a lot in terms of fuel use, emissions and health. EPA developed a national idling program to address the issue.

As of June 2003, Atlanta, Georgia, has a National Transportation Idle Free Corridors project. Its goal is to eliminate all unnecessary long-duration truck and locomotive idling at strategic points along major transportation corridors. Furthermore, EPA is studying, evaluating, and deploying technologies and strategies for trucks and locomotives, and for idling locations such as truck parking spaces and rail yards.

Various strategies are employed. The ‘interactive activity map’ (IAM) for instance, to view the locations and impacts of SmartWay and National Clean Diesel Campaign projects, such as electrified truck stops, renewable energy refueling stations, and marine terminals.

Rail and intermodal operations
Railways make a very efficient transportation mode. Therefore SmartWay points out practical opportunities where rail can be better utilized. The program also encourages technical innovation in this area.

Partners
SmartWay develops financing options in cooperation with states, banks, and other organizations, to help partners purchase fuel saving devices and reduce emissions.

The program has an impressive list of partners and affiliates. The first are commercial, industrial, and public sector organizations committed to the SmartWay goals. EPA provides fleet management tools, technical support, information and public recognition. The affiliates are trade and professional associations, nonprofit environmental, energy, and community organizations, and school and university groups. They promote greater energy efficiency and air quality within the freight transport sector and explain the business and environmental benefits of participation in SmartWay to members.

Amongst the partners are Canon U.S., Coca-Cola Enterprises, GlaxoSmithKline, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, U.S. Foodservice, Volvo Logistics North America, Wal-Mart, Warner Brothers/Time Warner and countless truck carriers and logistics companies.