Continental’s array of fuel-efficient truck tires, combined with an outreach program directed at its shipping fleets, has resulted in the company being able to exceed conservation and pollution abatement goals during its first year of participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Upon joining SmartWay in June of last year, Continental agreed to use the EPA’s Freight Logistics Environmental and Energy Tracking Performance Model for Shippers (FLEET) to measure its environmental performance levels. The company’s initial goal was to achieve a FLEET score of at least 0.95 within three years. Yet after just a single year – during which it shipped 24 million tires throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico – it netted a mark of 1.14 out of a maximum score of 1.25.
“Exceeding our compliance goal with the SmartWay Transport Partnership means that Continental is doing its part to reduce air pollution and the environmental impacts from our supply chain operations,” says supply chain director Dominique Lacroix.
He adds that that the company makes a concentrated effort to “spread the word” among its suppliers about the positive environmental impacts of reducing greenhouse gases.
“We made it a consideration of the carrier selection process that fleets operate as SmartWay Transport Carriers when considering bids, and (we) encouraged carriers within our existing base who were not already a part of the SmartWay program to join,” Lacroix explains. “In doing so, we have achieved our goal to have the majority of our tire products shipped within these environmentally sensitive guidelines.”
Its largest carrier, Old Dominion Freight Line of Thomasville, N.C., enthusiastically took part in the program, he points out.
“The SmartWay guidelines have given us a path to follow to improve the efficiency of our fleet while making the environment cleaner for our customers, employees and their families,” says Ed Richardson, Old Dominion’s vice president of equipment and maintenance.
The overall EPA Transport Partnership aims to save between 3.3 and 6.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year by 2012, which is equal to removing 12 million passenger cars from the road. In order to achieve this level of fuel savings, participating truck fleets pledge to implement idle reduction strategies, improve aerodynamics, use advanced freight logistics practices, lighten vehicle and equipment weights, implement driver training and use SmartWay-verified fuel efficient technologies – including wide base and low rolling resistant tires.
The company’s line of EPA-approved tires encompasses the HSL2 steer tire, the HDL Eco Plus drive tire and the HTL Eco Plus trailer tire. Its new HTL1 Super Single trailer tire has been submitted to SmartWay for testing and is awaiting official verification.
“When you combine Continental’s commitments to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within our own supply chain with our advances in engineering that produce our low rolling resistance tires, we are truly proud of our achievements in reducing our environmental footprint,” says Clif Armstrong, director of commercial vehicle tire marketing.
“Our responsibility for minimizing our impact on the environment is an important part of our corporate values. It extends over the entire lifecycle of a tire, from sourcing our rubber, through renewable raw materials, to engineering a more fuel-efficient truck tire product, then using shipping partners who have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gases and air pollution,” he reports.
For more information, visit www.conti-na.com.
