EPA honors shippers for green transport efforts

The smartway program promotes collaboration, innovation to cut pollution.    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced 11 shippers and logistics companies as winners of its 2014 SmartWay Excellence Awards for their ability to significantly improve fuel efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution associated with the transportation of their freight.       
   The SmartWay program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is a voluntary industry partnership aimed at getting truck, intermodal and rail carriers to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Under the program, long-haul motor carriers, port shuttle truckers and now, railroads and barge companies, measure their emissions output and fuel consumption against industry benchmarks, share their findings to help establish the goal posts, and employ technologies and process improvements to reduce fuel consumption and the output of pollutants. Shippers in the program compile the measurements of their motor carriers to understand the environmental footprint of their supply chain, and they commit to move a substantial amount of their cargo with SmartWay certified motor carriers.   
   About 3,000 companies and organizations belong to SmartWay.  
   Receiving awards at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ annual conference in San Antonio on Tuesday were:

• Hewlett-Packard Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
• The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.
• Johns Manville
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation
• SC Johnson and Son, Inc.
• Nordstrom
• Expeditors International of Washington
• Menlo Logistics
• Ryder Supply Chain Solutions
• ShipCarsNow (a Union Pacific company that manages auto transport)

   The EPA is scheduled to announce winners in its motor carrier category on Oct. 5 during the American Trucking Associations’ annual conference in San Diego.