(Justmeans.com / CSR News) - March 9, 2010 | Posted by Jason Mathers

Medium-duty trucks are the workhorses of the American economy. They deliver food and beverages to restaurants and convenience stores, drop off packages at homes and offices, serve as mobile workshops for all types of technicians and perform thousands of other daily tasks. They are also responsible for producing over 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

To help fleets reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and harness cost savings, Environmental Defense Fund teamed up with past partner PHH Arval, a leading fleet management company, to identify and showcase a number of effective and replicable strategies to reduce emissions and costs from medium-duty trucks.

Highlights of this new whitepaper, available at http://edf.org/greenfleet, include:

• How Frito-Lay saved 10% on fuel by downsizing its urban grocery store delivery truck model from a 24-foot Class 6 straight truck to a 20-foot Class 5;
• How by reducing speeding and after hours use and deploying a telematics solution, LKQ decreased idling by 62% and saved 16 gallons of fuel per vehicle each month;
• How Staples modified the transmission control unit and installed speed governors to increased the fuel economy of its single-unit trucks by 12-16% and
• How PoolCorp improved fuel economy by 4% by making adjustments to the Engine Control Module (ECM) that limit speed and shorten engine idle intervals.

Recognizing that every fleet is different, the whitepaper showcases 14 strategies and includes options for every duty cycle to improve efficiency and cut emissions.

Look for opportunities to drive medium-duty trucks in your fleet onto the onramp of a lower-carbon future.