It’s fair to say that the logistics industry has quite an impact on the environment. Truckers use about 54 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year, and non-refrigerated warehouses in the U.S. alone use an average of 6.1 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and 13,400 Btu of natural gas per square foot annually.

That’s not to say any of the energy consumed by supply chain companies and their partners isn’t used for a good purpose, the logistics industry contributed $1.39 trillion to our economy in 2016, representing eight percent of annual GDP, and employs more than 7 million people, after all, but there is one thing we can say with certainty: not all energy is used equally. There is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to using energy, particularly diesel fuel, efficiently, which is why King Solutions is proud to work with the EPA as a certified SmartWay Transport partner. It’s just one of the many ways our company is ThinKING Green.

What is SmartWay?
Launched by the EPA in 2004, SmartWay is a voluntary public-private program that allows shippers, carriers and logistics companies to partner with the EPA in order to measure and improve logistics operations so that companies like King can reduce their environmental footprint. As a SmartWay Transport partner, we are committed to:

Tracking and reducing fuel usage
Improving our client’s supply chain sustainability
Reducing the costs of moving freight
Optimizing carrier routes
Reducing emissions

How SmartWay and its partners are helping
The transportation industry is responsible for over 50% of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, 30% of volatile organic compound emissions and 20% of particle matter emissions in the U.S., and energy usage is also increasing at an alarming rate. Freight activity is set to double by 2040, and experts predict that global freight transport emissions will surpass those from passenger vehicles by 2050.

SmartWay and its 3700 partner organizations are on a mission to turn the tides in an industry that has an ever-growing footprint. Since 2004, the SmarWay program has helped organizations:

Save over 215.4 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel the electricity usage of over 14 million homes for an entire year. This has helped reduce the country’s dependency on foreign oil and invest more dollars right here at home.
Reduce fuel costs by 29.7 billion dollars
Reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants by 103 million tons, helping us all live safer, healthier lives.

Our team at King is doing its part, as well. Over the past several years, our team has contributed to the Partnership’s cumulative savings of:

144.3 million barrels of oil
$20.6 billion in fuel costs
61.7 MMT of carbon dioxide (CO2)
1,070,000 tons of nitrogen oxides
43,000 tons of particulate matter

How businesses benefit from SmartWay
Supply chain companies and carriers are not the only one to benefit from SmartWay. Working with a SmartWay partner has many benefits for businesses, including:

A reduction in shipping costs
More efficient methods of shipping freight
Improved performance by leveraging a fleet of the most qualified and reliable carriers
A smaller carbon footprint through emissions reductions and key fuel efficiency metrics
Continuous improvement of transportation management strategies and best practices
Better visibility and analysis of shipping data that can be used in sustainability reports, procurements and KSA (knowledge, skills, abilities) processes

Work with a Top SmartWay Partner
There are 3700 SmartWay partners, but only a top few (5%, to be exact) are recognized by the EPA as “High Performers.” King was recently named as one of those top partners. We have achieved the high criteria set forth by the EPA, and 80% of our miles are now SmartWay shipped. That means we have significantly reduced the emissions footprints of our clients while bringing greater visibility and cost efficiency to their shipping programs.

Ready to do your part while enjoying the benefits of SmartWay? Contact King today to talk about how our solutions are the “SmartWay” to transport your freight.