A significant component of method's carbon footprint results from shipping our products
to our customers, so we've started looking for ways to reduce this footprint. Working
with one of our main shippers, we've created a program of alternative fuels and
efficiency innovations for the trucks that we use that are starting to reduce this
portion of our carbon footprint.
A program we've created to address these impacts uses alternative fuels and efficiency
improvements for the trucks that we use. Starting with our deliveries to stores
in California in 2008, we began using trucks that run on biodiesel (that's the first
of them above!) with a whole host of fuel-efficiency improvements. It originally
ran on a 20% biodiesel blend, but we are now increasing that to 50%, meaning a significant
portion of the diesel is replaced by renewable, lower emission biodiesel from secondary
waste vegetable oil sources (that means no "bad biodiesel"). Among the efficiency
improvements are automatically inflating tires, aerodynamic improvements in the
trailer design, and an auxiliary power unit so the engine can be turned off when
stopped and idling.
So far the results are very promising - we have increased our miles/gallon by 15-30%
on average, and reduced the carbon footprint of shipping when we use these trucks
by 30-50%. This has led to cost reductions in shipping, and we've seen good durability
on the technologies that we are experimenting with.
The experiment has gone so well, in fact, that we are now expanding this pilot program
into others regions in the country. Starting January 2010, we expanded our fleet
to include six more biodiesel trucks, which will carry about 80% of the volume out
of our New Jersey warehouse.
We can now proudly say that a full 33% of our total product shipped, is shipped
with this biodiesel program.
Improving the footprint of the trucks is only one part of our approach. We have
also had multi-year focus on moving a bigger portion of our freight onto trains,
which emit far less carbon per ton mile than trucks. In 2008, over 40% of our domestic
product freight was shipped by rail, a number we have been improving on since then.
All of the initiatives above contribute to method's recognition as an EPA SmartWay partner.
While many people are talking about greener shipping, method is proud to say we're
doing it, and on a scale that we are proud of. Initiatives like this prove that
big change can come from small companies. It is just one of the ways method is pioneering
a greener supply chain. Because green products are better when they come from green
companies.
