Business News
Quad Earns EPA SmartWay Environmental Excellence Award
Friday 10. October 2008 - For leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from its freight operations, commercial printer Quad/Graphics has received its third consecutive Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWaySM Transport Partnership.
“Focusing on fuel efficiency and emissions through initiatives like the SmartWay Transport Partnership makes good environmental sense and good business sense,” said Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics President & CEO. “We hope our successes in the freight sector will spur other companies to action.”
Quad/Graphics is one of just 27 companies and organizations – and the only commercial printer – from among the Partnership’s more than 1,000 participants to receive this year’s Environmental Excellence Award. More significantly, the printer is only one of four companies to earn the award three years in a row. Quad/Graphics also won in 2006 and 2007 for the environmental achievements of its freight subsidiary Duplainville Transport, which operates a fleet of semi-trailer trucks.
Environmental achievements
During 2007 Duplainville Transport achieved significant improvements in fleet performance as it pertains to emissions reductions and fuel efficiency, avoiding:
* 12,658 tons of carbon dioxide emissions- a 42% reduction over a fleet with no modifications;
* 59.6 tons of nitrous oxide emissions- a 79.6% reduction over a fleet with no modifications; and
* 1.1 tons of particulate matter – a 48.8% reduction over a fleet with no modifications.
Other initiatives the company has instituted to reduce emissions and fuel consumption include:
* Instituting financial incentives for drivers who focus on fuel efficiency and minimizing idle time. All Duplainville Transport drivers qualified for incentives in 2007.
* Purchasing 20 new tractors with fuel-efficient diesel engines and wide-based single tires, and retiring 10 old, inefficient tractors.
* Purchasing 10 new EPA-certified trailers with aerodynamic features, which have improved mileage up to ½-mile per gallon.
* Installing controls in all trucks to limit maximum speeds to 65 mph and requesting all drivers to drive 60 mph.
SmartWay Transport Partnership
The SmartWay Transport Partnership was introduced in 2004 as an innovative, market-based partnership to reduce fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollutants from the freight sector. Today, more than 1,000 businesses and organizations have joined. Together these companies are conserving almost 600 million gallons of diesel fuel per year, saving at least $2.5 billion in annual fuel and maintenance costs and eliminating an estimated 6.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.