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EPA Honors Alabama-based McElroy Truck Lines for Superior Supply Chain Efficiency

Release Date: 10/07/2014
Contact Information: Jason McDonald, (404) 562-9203, mcdonald.jason@epa.gov

(10/07/2014-ATLANTA) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is honoring McElroy Truck Lines along with 43 other top truck and multi-modal carriers as industry leaders in supply chain environmental and energy efficiency with its 2014 SmartWay^® Excellence Awards announced today by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy at the American Trucking Associations’ Annual Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego, Calif.

These carrier partners are SmartWay’s top environmental performers, setting benchmarks in how they move products and supplies, by transporting the continent’s goods efficiently with the lowest overall carbon dioxide and criteria emissions.

Headquartered in Cuba, Alabama, the company was given the award for excellence in the large SmartWay^® flatbed carrier category. Flatbed carriers use heavy duty trucks to move flatbed trailers that can carry a range of goods.

"As SmartWay celebrates its tenth anniversary, EPA recognizes its top carrier partners for the significant strides they have made toward a sustainable transportation future,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “By saving fuel and keeping carbon dioxide and harmful pollutants out of the air, recipients of the SmartWay Excellence Award demonstrate that fighting climate change and protecting human health is good for business.”

Since 2004, SmartWay partners have saved $16.8 billion in fuel costs and 120.7 million barrels of oil— the equivalent of taking over 10 million cars off the road for an entire year. SmartWay’s clean air achievements, which include 51.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 738,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 37,000 tons of particulate matter emissions avoided, help to protect the well-being of citizens.

This year, SmartWay Program, a public-private partnership between EPA and transportation-related companies, celebrates 10 years as a market-driven initiative that empowers businesses to move goods in the cleanest, most energy-efficient way possible, while protecting public health and reducing the impacts of climate change. Demonstration of a commitment to corporate sustainability and social responsibility through SmartWay provides for a more competitive and environmentally-friendly business environment.

Building on the important work of the SmartWay Program, EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) worked with the trucking industry to create the first-ever greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for heavy duty vehicles—model year 2014 to 2018. Over the lifetime of these vehicles, they’ll save 530 million barrels of oil and over 270 million metric tons of carbon emissions—not to mention $50 billion dollars in fuel savings. As part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, EPA and DOT plan to extend the heavy duty national program beyond model year 2018, to further reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, last week, EPA recognized SmartWay shippers and logistics companies for moving freight while burning less fuel– by increasing the fuel efficiency of fleet vehicles, reducing idling, and maximizing the productivity of every haul, long or short.

The full list of 2014 SmartWay Excellence awardees, including shippers, logistics, top-truck and multi-modal carrier awards, can be may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/smartway/about/sw-awards.htm

For additional information on SmartWay, visit: https://www.epa.gov/smartway/