Today, we celebrate the 45th year of the modern environmental movement known as Earth Day!
Although we should constantly celebrate the environmental movement as a way to promote healthy trucking, this annual event is a great reminder of the ways we can become more environmentally friendly in our everyday lives.
It is easy to forget how the little things can have a major impact on the environment. Making a conscious effort to recycle more, conserve electricity, use reusable bags, and recycle foods by freezing the leftovers are just a few examples on how we can alter our daily lifestyle to create a healthier environment.
For many people, this sort of routine carries over into their jobs by turning off electronics at the end of the day, as well as carpooling to and from work.
However, it is a little bit more challenging for truck drivers. These everyday practices do not necessarily carry over when we are out on the road. With that said, there are many ways for both carriers and professional truck drivers to contribute to a healthier environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As a professional truck driver, be mindful of the following items:
Idling Time: Turn your truck off! Consider this the same as turning off lights or computers at home or in an office. Take advantage of truck stops and use their auxiliary units or truck stop electrification systems. These let you heat or cool your truck instead of wasting diesel while idling and emitting greenhouse gas emission.
Speed Reduction and Acceleration: It is hard to maintain a constant speed with the amount of vehicles on the road today, but try to maintain do so. Be cautious of the traffic flow by looking ahead for brake lights and smoothly decelerate.
Regular Maintenance and Upkeep: Both carriers and owner-operators should keep regular maintenance and upkeep on their vehicles. Frequently ensure proper tire pressure and check fluid levels. You must also change oil, oil filters, and air filters. These are important factors in improving fuel efficiency and creating a healthier environment. Keep these tips in mind in your regular passenger vehicles as well!
Route Planning: Planning ahead improves efficiency and ensures that trucks are used to capacity. It also helps you avoid bad weather, added driving time, and frustrating traffic jams.
These are all great and simple ways that we can build a better environment, saving money and time in the process!
As a carrier, there are also many ways to create significant environmental impacts through education and management.
Here are a few examples:
Improved Use & Education: It is important to educate ourselves, as doing so helps instill informed environmental policies and procedures. For office staff members, consider items such as proper waste bins, fully-equipped lunch rooms, and actions to ensure others turn off lights and computers at the end of the work day. For drivers, provide information about the ways to monitor and reduce carbon emissions. At JBT Transport, we have a meeting with our drivers to discuss reducing idling time as much as possible.
Collaborative Distribution: When load planning and dispatching, we should always consider merging different loads destined for the same end point to maximize trucking efficiency. It makes sense for both fuel efficiency and planning!
Aerodynamics: Installing aerodynamic panels on trailers and replacing older engines with new ones is critical. Environmentally-friendly engines are a little more costly but have great savings in the end, both financially and environmentally!
Regular Maintenance and Upkeep: Again, companies should be monitoring their trucks and making sure there has been regular maintenance and upkeep.
Take these simple steps to help Green Your Fleet!
>>JBT Transport strives to create an environmentally-friendly environment for its truck drivers. Contact us today to learn about our values and career opportunities.
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