As CEO of Titan Transfer in Shelbyville, Tennesse, Tommy Hodges is always scouting ways to reduce fuel costs, which make up one of the largest chunks of the expenses he faces managing this 38-state, full truckload business.

And since the 1990s, he and his managers of this 300-truck business have done just that. They have deployed the most environmentally efficient engines, purchasing only aerodynamically-designed trucks, deploying satellite communications systems to allow for tracking of units, and real-time rerouting of trucks and monitoring of driver behavior, to name a few of the many cost-saving tactics Titan employs.

The fact that all these measures also help the environment as they keep diesel-powered trucks from belching fumes containing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere might seem a secondary benefit, even irrelevant, to harried transport company owners caught up in trying to survive one of the worst recessions in recent history. But to Hodges, who also chaired the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Technology Maintenance Council’s now defunct Sustainability Task Force, helping reduce the 28 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the transportation sector is of tantamount concern.

For him there’s the “capitalistic motive.” Yet Hodges believes the environment is equally important. “Every gallon of gas we burn puts 22.2 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air, so saving the bottom line also saves the environment,” he explained.

Titan Transfer is not alone. They are just one of the many carriers nationwide joining industry, retail, and transportation companies, associations, and even a research arm of the U.S. Army, that are making mitigation of greenhouse gases a key business focus. While governments were battling it out in Copenhagen at the recent climate change summit, the private sector has been taking action to promote environmental safeguards that can be costly upfront and not produce immediate savings.

Happily, these same measures-particularly the wireless technology that promotes traffic flow and can help dispatchers more swiftly reroute trucks-also promotes global supply chain efficiency, helps the environment, and cut costs at the same time.

So who is going green right now? Just about every party to a shipment, affecting just about every link in today’s far-reaching global supply chains. And, these are not small players. They represent some of the largest retailers, manufacturers, and trade associations in the world, producing everything from cars and trucks to computer chips.

Included on this list (which grows daily as the Obama Administration and Congress are now releasing recovery money to push development of “green” technologies to aid the global transport sector) are the following: the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Connected Vehicle Trade Association; the U.S. Army Automotive Research Center; the American Lung Association; major truck carriers such as Con-way, Yellow Roadway Corp., and Schneider National; expedited carriers such as UPS; retailers like Walmart, and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs).

Moreover, 1,000 top executives responded to a McKinsey & Company 2008 survey, stating that they regarded addressing greenhouse gas emissions a benefit to building supply chain efficiency by “getting closer to suppliers, effectively reducing both costs and carbon in their supply chains.” They also said addressing climate change was “a somewhat, or very important issue, to consider in purchasing and supply chain management…Global executives increasingly identify the environment, including climate change, as a top concern,” according to the report summary.

Also, authors Chris Brickman and Drew Ungerman, learned from producers of consumer goods makers, high-tech players, and other manufacturers, that between “40 and 60 percent of a company’s carbon footprint resides upstream in its supply chain-from raw materials, transport, and packaging to the energy consumed in manufacturing processes. For retailers, the figure can be 80 percent.”

Big gun truckers lead the 'green' pack

Schneider National, YRC Worldwide, Con-way, ABF, and Swift are just some of the major fleets that have been working with the ATA to reduce the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

These carriers all served on a special ATA Sustainability Task Force that created a six-point initiative (entitled “Trucks Deliver a Cleaner Tomorrow”) that ATA president William Graves backed in a statement that was issued to all ATA members in May 2008.

The importance of pursuing green initiatives continues to gain traction with industry groups like the ATA and its key members. Indeed, some trucking firms now have executives whose job it is to promote sustainability-positions that didn’t even exist until just recently.

Dave Miller, Senior Vice President, Global Policy and Economic Sustainability for Con-way Inc., acknowledges that it’s not easy being green, but in a recent interview he asserted that there are “opportunities for trucking companies to take proactive, meaningful steps toward reducing their carbon footprint. In fact, by making some relatively simple operational changes, trucking companies can help sustain the environment, while improving efficiency.”

Mike Kelley, YRC Worldwide’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of External Affairs, said YRC has been working hard for many years to promote fuel economy and reduce emissions. For example, he said “over a decade ago we moved our terminal in Barstow, California to San Bernadino, which is literally next door to the major rail lines.” The move substantially cut down on transporting freight, allowing for the shuttling of cargo from the terminal to waiting freight trains right outside the door.

He is also pleased to announce that YRC recently received a federal grant through the federal recovery program to test advanced diesel detective devices that should more accurately monitor emissions and assist trucking firms to control their output.  wt



Contributing writer Amy Zuckerman covers high-tech and sustainable supply chains.

Sidebar: The Port of Charleston: a Regional Leader

The Port of Charleston: a Regional Green Leader  by Dan McCue

The South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) launched its Pledge for Growth program in June 2008 to improve environmental stewardship at the ports and throughout neighboring communities. Recently, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) praised the program for raising stakeholder awareness and involvement in initiatives to reduce diesel emissions in and around the port’s terminals, for providing aerial surveys for the endangered Northern right whales, restoring tidal marsh, and preserving environmentally sensitive lands.

“The Port of Charleston is clearly the leader [in sustainability] in the Southeast,” said SCSPA director of public relations, Byron Miller, when asked to quantify the efforts. “We completed the first port air emissions inventory in the region, and we were also the first in the region to switch to ultra-low sulfur diesel.”

Ultra-low sulfur diesel is considered to be far less polluting than traditional diesel. In addition to switching to the cleaner fuel in its own operations, the Port of Charleston has also worked with onsite partners to make a similar move. To date, seven port tenants have switched to ultra-low sulfur fuel, as have the Charleston Harbor Pilots, and S.C. Public Railways is using it in their switching rail engines.

The ports authority, in conjunction with the Charleston Motor Carriers Association, the S.C. Trucking association, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and the American Lung Association, has also initiated three separate truck projects under two separate grants provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

They cover retrofits of equipment, reduction of idling through the provision of auxiliary power, and diesel particulate filters and diesel oxidation catalysts,

“Thankfully, we don’t have the pollution problems to which ports in California have had to respond,” he continued. “The fact is, we’re a designated attainment area, and we want to stay that way. That’s why we launched our voluntary partnership with the South Carolina Department of Heath and Environmental Control in 2007, and why we have more air emission reduction programs underway than any other port in the Southeast.”

But Miller also credited the private sector, which he said has put up “big money” to match federal grants. “Cleaner engines reduce emission and fuel usage,” he said. “That’s good for the economy and the environment.”

Meanwhile, the port is also planning to introduce shore-side power as a way to help reduce ship emissions. Miller says the concept is still in its infancy, but the port is committed to supporting it.

In addition, the SCSPA was awarded a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. EPA, including $963,500 in local matching funds that include a project to re-power 21 of the port’s rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes.

At the same time, the SCSPA is replacing Tier 0 Cummins engines with certified Tier 3 Volvo engines, thereby reducing NOx (nitrogen oxides) by 57 percent and particulate matter by nearly 37 percent. Furthermore, the engine re-powers will improve fuel efficiency by more than 16 percent.

For its part, Moran Charleston, which provides ship docking and harbor towing services, has switched half of its fleet to cleaner burning fuels.

Through grant funding awarded by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the U.S. EPA, Moran switched its largest Charleston-based tug, the 6,140-horsepower Elizabeth Turecamo, to ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD).

This change will provide an estimated 10 percent reduction in particulate matter emissions. The company has also switched the Cape May, a 3,000-horsepower twin screw tug, to a B20 biodiesel/ULSD blend.