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What's smarter than saving money, providing energy security and a cleaner environment?

The SmartWay brand was launched in 2004 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a way to address the environmental and economic challenges surrounding growth in the freight industry. The program has been wildly successful, as the number of participating partners has increased from an initial 52 to more than 1,100 today.

The volunteer program brings together government, business and consumers to promote environmentally cleaner, more fuel efficient transportation options, and offers opportunities to lower fuel use and emissions and help in locating financing for the purchase of environmental and fuel-saving technology.

Membership in the SmartWay Transport Partnership is available for any companies involved in freight transport--fleets, manufacturers, logistic providers and truck stop operators. SmartWay Transport Partnership director Mitch Greenberg said the genesis of this joint effort between the EPA and the trucking industry began when agency officials recognized the department did not have a fuel efficiency/climate change program for the freight industry.

"We thought it would be an appropriate program to build, in that it would be very good for EPA, because it reduces emissions, and it would be very good for the trucking industry, because it would save fuel and money," he says. "Why not support this when you get the best of both worlds? Once we realized a program could be put together, EPA and about 13 companies from the freight industry--about half trucking companies and half shippers--got together and designed the details of the program."

Fast forward to this year, and SmartWay partners are now collaborating to reduce about 6.8 million tons of CO2 emissions and save about 620 million gallons of fuel per year, cutting at least $2.5 billion in costs.
"Those are serious numbers," Greenberg says.

Driving Smart

The program provides financial incentives, low-cost loans and improved business-to-business opportunities that many companies are taking advantage of, including a reduced cost of fuel, a ROI within 1-3 years on most fuel and emission-saving technologies, reduced maintenance costs, improved driver retention due to incentive and training programs and lower shipping rates.

Savings aside, Greenberg says "going green" is becoming important for companies; particularly larger ones.

"There really is a push out there for both trucking companies and shippers to be more environmentally aware and to run businesses as sustainably as possible, and you're seeing that growing each day," he says. "Shareholders, insurers and investors are looking for these things as well, so you become a much more attractive company when you're taking control of these environmental pieces, which 10 years ago, companies weren't necessarily doing."

SmartWay can also help trucking companies figure out how they can become more sustainable, further helping their bottom lines.

"That just helps the overall management of a company," he says. "Some trucking companies realize they can actually integrate this environmental performance into their business models quite easily, because the more fuel they don't burn, the more money they'll save and the (fewer) emissions they produce."

Pitching In

Greenberg says the issue of energy security has also led many fleets to join the program and do their part.

"The issues of homeland security and energy security have clearly been connected to our energy supply in the U.S., and that's a factor," he says. "Truckers are very patriotic, prideful business owners, and they want to make sure that they're running their business the best way they can and helping their country the best way they can. The SmartWay program allows all of these things to be wrapped together in kind of a one-stop shopping, if you will.

"You don't have to go in four or five different directions to try to be more sustainable, to reduce your emissions, to reduce your fuel consumption, to figure out what are the best ways you can help with energy security--it all happens for the trucking company when you save fuel, and what SmartWay does is help you document and quantify all that."

Joining the SmartWay Transport Partnership is "pretty straightforward and very easy," says Greenberg. Shippers are asked to move at least 50 percent of their goods with SmartWay carriers; who in turn are asked to become more fuel-efficient and reduce their emissions each year.

"(Fleets) are asked to measure their environmental performance--how many trucks, how many miles are being traveled, how many gallons of fuel are being consumed--and we provide software that allows them to quantify the emissions impacts," he says. "Then the company is asked to improve that performance and send EPA updates each year showing this improvement. We ask everyone to do it the same way, so that shipper who's looking at this collection of companies has some degree of confidence that everybody's measured the same way."

Orange Goes Green

Green Bay, WI-based Schneider National, Inc. is one of the largest truckload carriers in the country, with more than 10,000 of its bright orange trucks traveling across North America daily. The company joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership in 2004 to demonstrate the company's commitment to sustainability and efficient business practices, says Schneider National, Inc. fuel purchasing manager Bryan Gerl.

"We also believed the program would give us a platform for our sustainability-related accomplishments, inspiring others to do their part to achieve greener supply chains," he says.

Gerl says Schneider runs the most energy-efficient fleet in the industry, citing the company's impressive 2007 SmartWay rankings--out of 441 companies, Schneider ranked #1 in CO2 commitment tons saved and #2 in MPG. Still, Gerl says company officials are constantly looking for ways to improve, and for the past two decades have employed a team of full-time engineers who are dedicated to upgrading equipment performance and efficiency.

"This team works closely with suppliers in search of industry-wide energy improvements for the equipment we spec' and purchase," he says.

Gerl says the company's test program dedicates resources solely to fact-finding for five months each year, with significant results. Recently, Schneider's engineers found additional aerodynamic improvements were needed in a supplier's new model side extenders, faring angles, bumpers and frame, so these changes will be incorporated in new designs on their 2009 model.

"Over the years, tractor specifications have been updated to improve aerodynamics as a result of our findings," he says. "In 2007, these aerodynamic features delivered a fuel savings of more than 46 million gallons."

Measuring Performance

To participate in the program, SmartWay requires Schneider to do several things: measure the environmental performance of its fleet using EPA's FLEET performance model; identify a goal to improve the environmental performance of its fleet to be achieved within three years; develop an action plan detailing how the goal will be achieved; submit the goal and action plan to EPA within six months of signing and submitting this agreement and report progress each year toward achieving the goal.

"In addition, we push ourselves, our suppliers and our customers to understand the importance of efficiency initiatives and their impact on sustainability," Gerl says. "Schneider has worked closely with Goodyear in testing and identifying the most energy-efficient tires in the industry. Tires used on Schneider's fleet of 10,200 trucks are technologically a full generation ahead of the industry norm and will deliver an emissions reduction of up to 4.8 percent."

Gerl says there are definite, real-world benefits to being a SmartWay partner.

"SmartWay works to help drive organizational efficiency that ultimately leads to bottom-line improved financial results," he says. "Participation in SmartWay should be viewed as an investment in your organization that can lead to long-term efficiency and enhanced profitability. Most importantly, it also leads to a greener, healthier planet."