Four more of the United States' companies with the largest vehicle fleets have joined a Department of Energy program that helps in cutting consumption of fossil fuels.
The agency's National Clean Fleets Partnership invites the private sector to reduce the amount of fossil fuel they use nationwide. In the program, companies commit to improve the fuel economy of their existing fleets, alongside adopting alternative technology vehicles.
Best Buy, Johnson Controls, Pacific Gas and Electric and Veolia are joining the existing 14 companies in the program, which are AT&T, Coca-Cola, Enterprise Holdings, FedEx, Frito-Lay, G.E., Osram Sylvania, PepsiCo, Ryder, Schwan's Home Service, Staples ThyssenKrupp Elevator, UPS and Verizon.
Collectively, the fleets of all the National Clean Fleet Partners account for more than 12 percent of all commercial vehicles on U.S. roads.
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The new partners had reportedly been working to develop fuel-efficiency projects for their fleets. Electronics retailer Best Buy has had a carbon emission reduction scheme that has reduced the emission of their 5,000-vehicle fleet by 21 percent since 2009. Auto and truck parts company Johnson Controls introduced hybrid vehicles to their global fleet of 19,000 vehicles in 2009.
Utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company has more than 3,100 alternative fuel and high-efficiency vehicles, while Veolia Environmental Services' solid waste division has a fleet of around 3,000 vehicles.
The National Clean Fleets Partnership is an initiative of the Energy Department's Clean Cities program that was launched in April 2011.
Energy Department experts provide expertise and support to allow partners to develop a comprehensive, cost-saving, fuel reduction strategy. The department also helps connect partners with clean fuel providers and equipment manufacturers where their fleets operate.
"When any one of them chooses to use an alternative fuel like natural gas, electricity, or biodiesel in place of conventional fuels, there is a tangible positive impact on the communities in which they do business," said Mark Smith, who manages the national partnership efforts for the department's Vehicle Technologies Program's Clean Cities Initiative.
– EcoSeed Staff
