Illinois EPA Designates 15 Chicago Area “Green Fleets”

The Illinois EPA, in coordination with the Chicago Area Clean Cities coalition, designated 15 new Chicago area Green Fleets at an event held today in Oak Park.

The Illinois Green Fleets program provides for “Green Environment, Green Energy, & Green Economics for a Green Illinois,” through the use of clean alternate fuels, such as natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol, propane and electricity in their fleet vehicles, as well as retrofiting existing diesel trucks with clean technology options to reduce diesel particulates. Information regarding the program can be found at http://www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/.

“These are family-owned and larger businesses, as well as public bodies, that have seen the value in supporting clean air, energy independence, jobs and providing insurance against the concern about high prices for gasoline and diesel,” said Interim Illinois EPA Director John Kim.

“These new Green Fleets join an elite fraternity of over 100 designated fleets throughout the state. We see more and more family-owned small businesses that are taking the initiative to purchase and convert their vehicles and equipment to run on a clean American fuel,” said Darwin Burkhart, program manager for the Illinois EPA and Chairman of Chicago Area Clean Cities.

The 15 new Illinois Green Fleets are:

Abt Electronics, a family-owned electronics and appliance store based in Glenview, uses biodiesel in its diesel truck fleet and has 30 vans that use E85 ethanol fuel and two vans that run on natural gas. In addition, the Abt family installed diesel oxidation catalysts on eight diesel delivery trucks to further reduce particulate emissions.

Groot Industries, a family operated waste hauler based in Elk Grove Village, has 33 refuse trucks that run on natural gas and has installed two natural gas refueling stations to share with other fleets. Other waste companies being recognized are Waste Management in Wheeling and Veolia ES Solid Waste in Northbrook with 33 and 20 natural gas refuse trucks, respectively.

Competitive Lawn Service, a small commercial lawn business in Downers Grove, is the first lawn and landscaping business in the country to convert many of its pickup trucks and mower equipment to propane.

Doreen’s Pizzeria, a family-owned business in Calumet City, has seven natural gas-powered delivery trucks that display “Green Pizza Machines” on the sides of the vehicles.

Ozinga Ready Mix, a family-owned business in Mokena, is believed to be the first concrete company in the country to convert 14 of its mixing trucks to run on natural gas.

SCR Medical Transportation, a family run paratransit service in the Chicago area, operates 20 natural gas vans and shuttles for people needing mobility assistance. In addition, GO Airport Express operates two propane and two natural gas-powered shuttle vans and Yellow Cab Chicago has 79 natural gas taxis; both companies operate from O’Hare and Midway airports.

Other Green Fleets that are being acknowledged at the event are Northern Illinois University in DeKalb that uses E85, biodiesel, natural gas, and hybrid vehicles in many of its trucks, buses, campus police cars, and other campus vehicles and equipment; Chicago Park District that has E85, biodiesel, natural gas, hybrids and electric vehicles; Dillon Transport of Burr Ridge that uses E85 in the company’s flex fuel vehicles; Foodliner of Franklin Park that operates six Freightliner trucks on natural gas; and the DuPage County Division of Transportation that has nearly half its fleet running on E85, biodiesel, natural gas and electricity.

 

How ethanol is saving fuel at Daytona 500

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

Blended fuel emits 20 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than unleaded gasoline. In addition, NASCAR is supporting recycling programs for car batteries and oil.

 

Infographic: Mother Nature’s Pop Science Guide to Birds

View the infographic at Mother Nature Network.

Birds are some of the most adaptable animals on Earth, finding ways to survive in a variety of habitats on all seven continents. But since humans rarely take time to sing their praises, here’s a graphical tribute to the impressive achievements of our avian neighbors.

 

Reconsidering California Transport Policies: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in an Uncertain Future

Download the document from the Rand Corporation.

The state of California has set aggressive greenhouse gas emissions targets across all sectors of the economy over the next 40 years. The first of these targets occurs in 2020, when California plans to have reduced statewide greenhouse gas emission from their current levels to 1990 levels. As the largest single contributor to emissions, and the sector with the fastest growing emissions, transportation has been targeted for steep reductions. In particular, the state’s policies concentrate on passenger travel, the sector’s largest source of emissions. This dissertation applies robust decision methods to evaluate California’s policies within a framework that considers multiple views of the future, and identifies strategies that consistently reduce emissions at acceptable costs regardless of future conditions. Rather than preferring policies that are “optimal” under a narrow set of assumptions, the methodology identifies strategies which instead perform reasonably well over a wide range of potential future conditions. The study finds that California’s current set of policies is vulnerable to high emissions and cost overruns in a large set of plausible scenarios, and suggests adaptive strategies that can be used to improve policy performance when challenging conditions arise. In particular, efforts to control the growth of vehicle miles traveled are a key component of all adaptive strategies, but have been largely absent from the state’s plan so far.

 

Ikea’s Steve Howard on Bringing Sustainability to the Masses

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

A year ago, Steve Howard, founder and CEO of The Climate Group, became the chief sustainability officer (CSO) at Ikea, the privately held $32 billion Swedish home-furnishings giant. As Ikea releases its 2011 sustainability report, Steve talks with Heather King about his decision to move into industry, Ikea’s push for certified cotton and timber and how to make sustainable products affordable to millions.

 

NRDC to Work with Apple on Shoring Up Supply Chain in China

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

As Apple moves forward to address environmental problems in its supply chain, the opportunity is wide open to become a model for other companies to follow.

As USA Today reports, Apple is moving forward with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Chinese NGO, to address environmental problems in factories in its supply chain in China. The company has already put corrective actions in place in more than a dozen factories and is gearing up to identify and then address other existing environmental problems elsewhere.

 

Fast Food Packaging Study Finds McD’s, Starbucks are Green Leaders

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

The work McDonald’s and Starbucks have done to make their packaging more recyclable or reduce the amount of material they use have earned them high praise from the Dogwood Alliance.

In its latest report, Greening Fast Food Packaging, the environmental group lays out eight steps to help companies move to more sustainable packaging, illustrated with actions already being taken by major brands.

 

San Francisco Commits to e-Stewards’ Responsible Recycling Program

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

The City and County of San Francisco is continuing its environmental leadership today, announcing that it is just the third municipality in the nation to earn an e-Stewards Enterprise certification for its commitments to responsible e-waste management.

San Francisco joins two other counties — Washington’s King County and California’s Santa Clara County — along with the city of San Jose and numerous corporations that are using 100 percent e-Stewards certified recyclers for handling all end-of-life electronics.

 

Will Greener Shoes and Uniforms Bring Nike More Olympics Gold?

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Nike hopes to win both green and gold at this summer’s Olympics in London.

On Tuesday in New York City, the sporting-goods giant unveiled a new line of sportswear designed to help Olympians go faster, farther and longer. Nike is manufacturing its 2012 Olympic kits using less material — and more recycled plastics — than in the past.

The announcement came as part of a series of “cutting-edge, lightweight performance innovations designed for the track, the basketball court and beyond for this summer,” CEO Mark Parker said.

 

How U.S. Pro Sports Teams Rank on Environmental Disclosure

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

…with some support from my colleagues at Framework, I spent time during the fall of 2011 combing the official sites of every team in the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and National Hockey League (NHL) to catalog all of the information teams are providing to the public through their websites on a 16-point list of sustainability issues such as energy strategy, water conservation, and procurement practices. (You can explore the full results in the interactive tables on our site.)