Press release:
For Immediate Release:
August 23, 2012
SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421,
harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – During the recent Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) 7th Annual
Partners Meeting in Atlanta, GA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 4 Air, Pesticides, and Toxics Management Division Director Beverly
Banister, on behalf of the SEDC, presented the SEDC Leadership Awards to the
2011 winners. The awardees are:
Staples Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts - SEDC Industry Leadership Award
for
• Outfitting their fleet with 53 electric delivery trucks, with six of these
in service in Atlanta,
• Implementing efficiency initiatives including hybrid
vehicles, advanced idle reduction technology, engine horsepower reduction,
transmission changes, and route planning to improve fuel economy by 18 percent
since 2006,
• Achieving fuel savings of 724,000 gallons and reducing carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions by 8000 tons annually in 2010.
The Alabama Department of Transportation - SEDC Community Leadership Award
for
• Implementing a fleet replacement program to auction older diesel vehicles
to acquire vehicles and equipment that meet the 2007 and 2010 diesel emission
standards,
• Retrofitting 312 on road and off road vehicles and equipment
with diesel oxidation catalysts, either stand-alone or in concert with a closed
crankcase ventilation system,
• Maintaining a fleet of 1256 alternative fuel
vehicles and supporting the development of biofuels infrastructure in
Alabama,
• Deploying GPS units in two-thirds of their fleet to ensure
accountability with their no idle policy.
The Kentucky Clean Fuels
Coalition - SEDC Visionary Champion Leadership Award for
• Partnering with the Kentucky Department of Education to purchase and create
the largest hybrid bus fleet in the nation,
• Managing alternative fuel and
advanced technology projects across the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
• Promoting
sustainability partnerships with industry and other organizations.
The efforts by Staples, the Alabama DOT, and the Kentucky Clean Fuels
Coalition demonstrated exemplary leadership in the use of latest clean diesel
technologies, and serve as a role model for others to follow in effective
collaboration and partnership to reduce diesel emissions.
This is the fourth year the SEDC Leadership
Council has presented the Leadership Awards to recognize exemplary projects in
emissions reductions in EPA Region 4. Nominated parties are judged on their
effectiveness in meeting the SEDC’s goal to reduce emissions from existing
diesel engines and the work done in several sectors to reduce these emissions.
Previous years’ winners include United Parcel Service, Coca Cola Enterprises,
Ingram Barge Company, the North Carolina Solar Center, Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport, and Miami-Dade County, Florida Government.
Organized in early 2006 by EPA Region 4, the
Southeast Diesel Collaborative has enjoyed unprecedented success in bringing
together leaders from federal, state and local governments, organizations,
industry and academia to reduce diesel engine emissions across the eight
southeastern states. Focused on promoting energy independence, a cleaner
environment and growing, sustainable economies, this partnership offers wide
ranging health and economic benefits to the public fleet, freight and non-road
sectors.
The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel
Campaign, a program combining regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to
reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country. Visit the
Southeast Diesel Collaborative website at:
www.southeastdiesel.org.
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