November 5, 2007 - Quad/Graphics, the hemisphere's largest privately held commercial printer, has received an Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership in recognition of its leadership in reducing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from its freight transport activities. In 2006 alone, Quad/Graphics prevented the emission of 11,878 tons of carbon dioxide — the equivalent of taking 2,332 passenger cars off the road. It also prevented the emission of 70.5 tons of nitrous oxide and 1.13 tons of particulate matter.
"We have long been a company that thinks — and acts — green," said Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics President & CEO. "Since our founding, we have focused on environmental concerns and have learned that what's good for the environment is also good for business. They go hand in hand. We hope that our leadership in environmental issues will inspire other companies to action."
Quad/Graphics is one of 34 companies and organizations from among the Partnership's more than 600 partners to receive this distinction.
"EPA is pleased to recognize Partners with SmartWay Excellence Awards," said Margo Oge, Director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. "The award winners are leading the way toward a cleaner, more efficient transportation future with strategies that reduce emissions and increase profits.
Quad/Graphics' initiatives to reduce emissions and fuel consumption include:
- Installing auxiliary power units to heat and cool the cabs of its trucks so drivers don't have to keep the entire truck running while parked. These units use just one-eighth the amount of fuel consumed by a truck engine when idling.
- Installing technology that automatically shuts off a truck engine left idling for more than three minutes and activates the auxiliary power unit.
- Making aerodynamic modifications to its fleet cabs and trailers.
- Replacing older, heavier trucks with newer, lighter-weight trucks.
- Having drivers reduce speeds from 65 mph to 60 mph.
- Using low-friction lubricants and low-rolling resistance tires.
- Performing engine upgrades.
- Assigning double drivers per truck to reduce idling time.
- Educating drivers on how their driving practices affect fuel consumption and air emissions.
In addition, Quad/Graphics offers financial incentives to owner-operators with whom it contracts to move product if they reduce fuel consumption through SmartWay techniques. Owner-operators who drive 30,000 or more miles quarterly for the company receive extra pay per mile if they use auxiliary power units to heat and cool the cabs of their trucks and idle 10 percent or less of the time during the entire length of a haul.
Quad/Graphics was the first corporation in the printing and publishing industry to join the SmartWay Transport Partnership, which launched in 2004 as an innovative, market-based partnership to reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollutants from the freight sector. Today, more than 600 businesses and organizations have joined the Partnership, including companies of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to family-owned businesses, each working to improve their environmental performance. Together, based on their three-year commitments, these companies, including Quad/Graphics, are conserving more than 600 million gallons of diesel fuel per year, saving the trucking industry nearly $2 billion in annual fuel costs, and eliminating nearly 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. By 2012, the SmartWay program, with full industry participation, estimates nationwide that it will achieve annual fuel savings of 3.3 to 6.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel, eliminating 33 million to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions.
For more information about SmartWay visit: www.epa.gov/smartway or call (734) 214-4767.