ARI Case Study: Sustainable Options Yield 50 Percent Fuel Economy Improvement

ARI has released a sustainability case study focused on hidden green potential for fleets. ARI worked with Deli Express®/E.A. Sween Company to identify alternative methods to increase sustainability while using traditional fuels. Operating as a team, ARI, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America , Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies , and Thermo King supported Deli Express’ efforts to produce a new, lighter-weight diesel truck design that improves fuel economy by 50 percent, while significantly reducing emissions and increasing cost-effectiveness.

“Each of our clients has a unique set of needs, which must be carefully considered when building a sustainability strategy,” said Elisa Durand, Manager of Strategic Consulting, Analysis & Sustainability. “For many fleets, alternative fuel is not the only way to make a positive impact on emissions and fuel consumption. Rather than trying to put our clients into a box, we work side by side with them to identify the most innovative, efficient and economical solutions.”

This unique truck design is expected to emit 700 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide on a monthly basis in its current usage pattern and 4.2 fewer tons over a 12-month period. Isuzu Commercial Truck of America will provide the diesel chassis, Johnson Truck Bodies will build the lightweight insulated truck body and Thermo King will provide efficient refrigeration units. As additional units hit the streets, ARI will leverage its top tier analytical tools to calculate the design’s evolving impact on cost and efficiency.

“Our carefully selected fleet partners bring a higher level of expertise and creativity to fleet sustainability,” said Gregg Hodgdon, head of Deli Express®/E.A. Sween Company’s fleet operations and a Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) “Without their support, our company’s sustainability transition would have been far more difficult. We look forward to future collaboration in reducing our environmental impact.”

A case study on how E.A. Sween’s fleet providers worked together to reduce fuel expenditures and to improve the Company’s fleet carbon footprint can be found here.

Pay It Forward: Sponsor a Student to Attend NAFA I&E

In recent years, NAFA has created programs to attract students pursuing careers in the fleet industry. One such program involves I&E. A total of 17 students from NAFA’s three partner schools have been selected to attend this year’s event in St Louis, April 21-24, sponsored by NAFA’s Chapters and Affiliates. There are various sponsorship levels available with many organizations electing a Master’s level scholarship to gain the assistance of the intern for booth set-up, manning and tear down. Many employers are using this program to screen potential interns or even future employees in a professional setting.

NAFA encourages businesses to help invest in the next generation of fleet managers by providing internships, serving as mentors, and sponsoring students for I&E. For more information about opportunities to sponsor a student to attend I&E, please visit http://www.nafainstitute.org or click here to learn about sponsorship levels and click here to access a registration form.

NAFA’s Annual Conference Heads To St. Louis In April

Location, location, location. In conferences, as with business, those three words play a vital role. NAFA Fleet Management Association chose St. Louis as the location for its 2012 Institute & Expo and the decision looks better and better with each passing day. Two and a half months before the conference, the Expo Floor is 100 percent sold out and attendee registrations are pouring in at a much faster clip than in previous years. In fact, NAFA expects to have the best attendance for its annual conference in 7 years (back before the recession affected business travel and overall budgets).

NAFA’s 2012 Institute & Expo will take place at America’s Center in St. Louis April 21-24. The event is attended by fleet managers, the people responsible for managing the vehicles for corporations and government fleets, who come from throughout the United States and Canada. For St. Louis, that’s a pretty short plane ride or a convenient drive from many.

For those flying, flights to St. Louis take less than two hours for areas as diverse as New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami, and Dallas. For those driving, St. Louis is less than 350 miles (roughly a 5 or 6-hour drive) for dozens of cities, and even less for 7 of the top 40 most populated cities in the United States.

For more information on the I&E, please visit http://www.nafainstitute.org.

"I spent a week in a Civic CNG recently, and found it to be not only perfectly fine to drive but exceedingly easy to re-fill on my own at a CNG pump where I live in Ann Arbor, Mich.  Building up a CNG infrastructure and selling more CNG cars is the no-brainer of all-time if we can muster the political resolve to do it – it makes even more sense than electrics."

AOL Autos Editor-in-Chief David Kiley