Author Archives: Jason Mathers

Freight sustainability future depends on strong EPA SmartWay program

By | Bio | Published: November 21, 2011

On the train back north from the U. S. Freight Sustainability Summit this past Friday, two thoughts kept circling around in my mind: First, the U. S. EPA SmartWay program has created a powerful coalition working on freight sustainability, and its efforts have produced significant benefits for the environment, economy and energy security. Second, the [...]

Posted in Events & Activities, Goods Movement, Innovation, Supply Chain Management | Leave a comment

True competition starts with giving away the easy stuff

By | Bio | Published: June 14, 2011

Hanjin Shipping recently released a calculator “that enables a shipper to calculate CO2 emissions for transporting a container by period, multiple destinations and bill of lading number.” This new calculator, which includes factors from the Clean Cargo working group of BSR, was the latest in a recent series of announcements by freight carriers and logistics [...]

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Progressive, Cox and Frito Lay find savings at the pump

By | Bio | Published: June 6, 2011

As May turns to June, a nation of summer drivers rejoices in the recent slide of gas prices from  $3.98 per gallon at the beginning of May to $3.78 per gallon at the end of the month. Ok, maybe “rejoices” is a bit strong.  But there is a palpable sense of relief that the near daily [...]

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What's Your Shipping Success Story?

By | Bio | Published: May 18, 2011

An article in the Wall Street Journal the other day got me thinking: what are all the operational strategies companies are using today to move freight more efficiently? The article highlighted an effort of Alcatel-Lucent, a 2010 Climate Corps company, to reduce its carbon footprint 50% by 2020. Improving the carbon-efficiency of its logistics operations [...]

Posted in EDF Climate Corps, Goods Movement, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, News Commentary, Supply Chain Management | Leave a comment

Following the Leaders: Benchmarking Sustainability in Goods Movement

By | Bio | Published: May 10, 2011

A recent whitepaper by American Shipper floated across my desk the other day. Environmental Sustainability Benchmark Study: Leaders Prepare for the “Greening” Supply Chain examined how 200 transportation buyers were factoring in sustainability as they sourced goods movement services. The impetus for the study was the sense that a growing number of shippers were asking [...]

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Carbon Data Driving Freight Decisions

By | Bio | Published: March 21, 2011

An article in Fast Company caught my eye last week.  A “caviar production facility in Abu Dhabi” worked with a “biotechnology company” and a “cleantech logistics company” to find a cheaper, less-carbon intensive manner of moving sturgeon from Germany to Abu Dhabi. This venture was successful, as the companies were “able to perform the largest-scale [...]

Posted in Goods Movement, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, News Commentary, Supply Chain Management, Tools | 1 Response

Work Trucks and Fuel Consumption: 2011

By | Bio | Published: March 10, 2011

The Work Truck Show – an annual must-attend event for the vocational truck market – is occurring this week in Indianapolis. I attend the first two days of the event and was able to participate in the Green Truck Summit hosted by CalStart and the NTEA. The major topic of the summit was the coming [...]

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Can the fleet industry cut emission 20% over the next five years?

By | Bio | Published: February 8, 2011

Yes, in fact, it has before. According to the annual State of Green Business report released last week by the GreenBiz Group, the average fleet vehicle emitted 11.56 metric tons of greenhouse gases last year. This figure represents a nearly 5% drop over the 2009 level and an impressive 21% reduction from 2006 – the [...]

Posted in Behavior, Fleet Vehicles, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Tools | 1 Response

Hybrid Trucks: Creating Jobs, Reducing Emissions

By | Bio | Published: January 31, 2011
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Last Thursday, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) celebrated the production of its 1,000th hybrid-electric vehicle, a Freightliner Business Class M2 106. While the environmental benefits of these trucks – which can be 40% more efficient than conventional trucks – are well known, the job benefits received the most attention in the local media (see, News [...]

Posted in Fleet Vehicles, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, News Commentary, Partnerships | Leave a comment

Is your company prepared for $5/ gallon gas?

By | Bio | Published: January 20, 2011

In case you haven’t noticed, fuel prices are on the rise again.  Of course, it would be hard not to notice..  Even those among us that have chosen to travel exclusively on other forms of transportation likely find it hard to miss the rote commiserating from the rest of us every time we have to [...]

Posted in Behavior, Energy Efficiency, Fleet Vehicles, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, News Commentary, Tools | Leave a comment