The PWR SWATeam had their first meeting of the semester, where they discussed several updates related to purchasing, waste, and recycling. The Team discussed concerns about recycling bins on the Main Quad, persistent issues with the purchasing of recycled paper on campus, challenges with a centralized battery recycling program, and the formal adoption of EPEAT standards for electronics on campus. The SWATeam also discussed and provided feedback on a formal recommendation for the expansion of SmartWay to other campus units.

Many purchasers require that their trucking carriers participate in the SmartWay Transport Partnership.  In addition, purchasers can participate in SmartWay as shippers (as UIUC Housing did), which facilitates the tracking of emissions from their carriers and allows them to compete for awards presented annually by EPA.

Here are some examples.

1.  The State of Illinois' contract for Small Package Air and Ground Parcel Delivery Services, signed in 2014, requires that the carrier "must maintain its enrollment in the USEPA SmartWay® Program and continue in 'good standing', by submitting required data annually, for the duration of any awarded contract without backsliding."  "Backsliding" refers to maintaining the carrier's annual SmartWay performance ranking (1 to 5).  See State of Illinois Contract CPOGS15001 (attached), Section 1.5.1 and Attachment A.  This contract is available for agency and university use.  The RFP required that bidders participate in the SmartWay Transport Partnership.

2.  A federal contract -- Domestic Delivery Services 3, for the General Services Administration and at least 14 other participating agencies, signed in 2014 -- includes the following provision:  "Contractors are required to belong to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership, a voluntary partnership between the Federal Government and the trucking industry, to improve the environmental performance of freight and small package transport by adopting fuel and emission-reducing strategies. As an alternative, contractors may also report GHG emissions directly to GSA and the Department of Energy through the annual GHG inventory process which is followed by federal agencies."  See GSA, "DDS 3 Green Features Fact Sheet"  http://www.gsa.gov/portal/getMediaData?mediaId=196419.

3.  Federal Executive Order 13693 ("Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade", March 2015) directs agencies to apply preferences in purchasing for SmartWay participating carriers and SmartWay products.  See Section 3(i)(ii): "[T]he head of each agency shall, where life-cycle cost effective, beginning in fiscal year 2016, ... promote sustainable acquisition and procurement by ensuring that each of the following environmental performance and sustainability factors are included to the maximum extent practicable for all applicable procurements in the planning, award, and execution phases of the acquisition by ... purchasing sustainable products and services identified by EPA programs including ... WaterSense certified products and services (water efficient products); Safer Choice labeled products (chemically intensive products that contain safer ingredients), and SmartWay Transport partners and SmartWay products (fuel efficient products and services)."  https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/19/executive-order-planning-federal-sustainability-next-decade

4.  The SmartWay Excellence Awards for 2014 recognized seven shippers for moving 98 percent of their products and merchandise with high-performing SmartWay carriers: Lowe's, The Home Depot, Hewlett-Packard, Johns Manville, Kimberly-Clark, S. C. Johnson, and Nordstrom.  http://www.epa.gov/smartway/about/documents/awards/420f14052.pdf   As another illustration, Best Buy strongly encourages its carriers to participate in SmartWay, contractually requires all of its over-the-road trucking and intermodal business to be handled by SmartWay partners, and provides SmartWay partners prime docking times and locations. http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/best-buy-an-active-smartway-shipper-partner/

Professor Lavey presented a seminar through the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) last week on governments' efforts to promote cleaner trucking services.  The focus was on tools beyond legislation and regulations, especially imposing  low-emissions conditions on access to properties and applying environmental preferences in government purchases.  Here is the short description:

Technologies to cut truck emissions are available and cost-effective, and should be encouraged by a range of government and private actions. In 2013, Chicago approved the expansion of a railroad terminal contingent on retrofitting dozens of trucks with clean diesel filters. Illinois agencies are reforming freight and package delivery purchasing programs to implement the Transportation Sustainability Procurement Program Act of 2013. Similarly, the U.S. General Services Administration is applying new environmental preferences in selecting transportation vendors and tracking their performance.

See the video on ISTC's website.