Posts Tagged “carbon footprint”
By Charlie Fabricant, ALC Corporate
With the growth in awareness around climate change, the supply chain industry is taking significant strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the crucial service of keeping our economy flowing. Many companies across all sectors, driven by altruism or differentiation, are incorporating ESG-focused improvements. In 2021, 73% of S&P 500 companies tied their executives’ compensation to ESG metrics. Governments are investigating additional ways to push organizations to decarbonize. One avenue that many regulators are exploring is requiring companies to publicly share their annual carbon emission data. Both California and the EU have already passed emission disclosure bills, and the SEC is expected to release U.S. wide regulations this Spring. With the transportation sector currently leading all business sectors in carbon emissions, ALC is developing low-carbon shipping programs to help our customers with their reduction and reporting goals.
To provide a very brief explanation of GHG (greenhouse gas) accounting, there are three “scopes” of emissions. Scope 1 and 2 cover direct (owned assets) and indirect (purchased utilities) emissions, which are largely controllable by reporting companies. Scope 3 includes more complex calculations from production to disposal, including all emissions associated with a manufacturer’s or retailer’s supply chain, a significant aspect of which is transportation. For example, if you were a car manufacturer, your scope 3 would include the emissions associated with the first metal being mined through the post consumer disposal and everything in between (excluding emissions captured in scope 1 and 2). The SEC regulation was originally proposed in 2022, but has been pushed back multiple times due to the difficulties associated with reporting scope 3 emissions. Due to the truckload market’s fractured nature, many shippers work with multiple transportation partners, further increasing the difficulty of consolidating this data.
So, now that I have made ESG seem scary, here’s the soothing part…In order to address environmental concerns, our company uses an EPA and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) based calculator which provides truckload emission data. In addition, we’re developing a ‘Green Carrier Base’, recruiting low-emission carriers for sustainable shipping needs who will have a reportable emission reduction when compared to traditional fleets. Investigations into alternative fuels, such as renewable diesel, compressed natural gas, and eventually electric charging, are also underway with the goal of setting up a fuel delivery program for interested carriers and shippers through our partner, one of the U.S.’s largest energy providers. We’re also partnering with a unique carbon offset company which prioritizes additionality and building local coalitions of small-businesses and community leaders to ensure long-term environmental and economic benefits. We all live together on the same planet, and reducing our carbon footprint should be important to us all. Reach out to me if you’d like to have a conversation.
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Charlie Fabricant graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2021 with a double major in Economics and Human & Organizational Development with a minor in Environmental Sustainability. He joined the Nashville office as an undergraduate intern in 2021 and became a transportation broker along with the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) coordinator. In 2024, he was promoted to ESG programs manager.
charlie.fabricant@allenlund.com
Chicago’s Testa Produce, which added two all-electric trucks to its delivery fleet earlier this year, is now adding 10 new trucks that run on clean-burning, low-cost domestic compressed natural gas (CNG). The new 24-foot refrigerated CNG trucks will replace existing biodiesel trucks in Testa’s fleet, helping the foodservice distribution industry’s green leader to lower its carbon footprint even more and to bring the company closer to its goal of zero dependence on foreign oil within five years.
Manufactured by Cummings (chassis) and Kidron (refrigerator body), Testa Produce’s CNG trucks are quieter, have lower emissions and require less maintenance than diesel/biodiesel trucks with no loss of power or mileage. In addition to being more eco-friendly, the new trucks deliver cost savings: CNG is priced at around $2.60 per gallon compared to biodiesel’s recent $4.30 to $4.89 per gallon including tax, according to Stephanie Testa, Distribution Manager at Testa Produce.
Adding CNG delivery vehicles is in line with Testa Produce’s commitment to raise the bar on sustainability in the foodservice distribution industry. The company is the first perishable food distributor in the nation to earn LEED® Platinum, the highest certification available from the U.S. Green Building Council, for its award-winning state-of-the-art “green” distribution center. The facility incorporates energy-saving solar, wind and water technologies. Prior to piloting electric and CNG trucks, Testa was one of the first to convert its entire delivery fleet to biodiesel and all company cars to hybrids.
“We are always looking for innovative, cost-effective ways to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Peter Testa, President of Testa Produce. “Powering trucks with clean, renewable domestic compressed natural gas is an alternative-fuel solution that we’re excited to implement. Along with our electric vehicles, CNG will help move reduce our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels. As a transportation-based business, we’re demonstrating that we can, indeed, operate in much more sustainable ways.”
The first of Testa Produce’s new CNG-powered trucks arrived in late June. Nine more will be delivered over the next few months as leases on existing trucks expire.
About Testa Produce:
Founded in 1912, Testa Produce, Inc. is Chicago’s premier independent produce distributor. In addition to a broad line of domestic, local, organic, sustainable, and imported fresh produce items, the company delivers frozen, canned, and specialty foods to fine restaurants, hotels, and institutions throughout Illinois and much of Wisconsin. Testa is a member of Legacy Foodservice Alliance. In 2012, the company became the first food distributor in the nation to earn U.S. Green Building Council LEED® Platinum certification, the highest level available.
Press Release by: Testa Produce