Energy Procurement, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  September 22, 2016 - By Tom Murray

Walking the walk: Companies lead the call for clean truck standards

Editor's note:  This column first appeared on the Environmental Defense Fund's EDF + Business blog shortly after the EPA announced its new emissions standards for trucks. 

A number of America's most iconic brands helped pave the way for the new Clean Truck standards announced August 16th by the U.S. EPA and DOT. Nearly 400 companies, large and small, publicly urged strong, final fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for heavy trucks. 

Through their action, these companies have reaffirmed a basic truth of business today: to be a "leader", companies must align their sustainability goals and strategies with their external engagement on policy. 

While there are many differences as to how these 400 companies intersect with heavy trucks—manufacturers make the trucks, fleet owners drive the trucks, brands hire the trucks to move their goods to market—they are all unified by one resounding theme: cleaner trucks are better for their business, better for our health and better for the planet. 

Indeed, common-sense efforts to cut climate pollution have gone mainstream in business. Earlier this year Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple and others raised the bar on corporate climate leadership by standing up for the clean power plan. Colgate-Palmolive, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Nike, Starbucks and over 100 other companies built on this trend by urging "the swift implementation of the Clean Power Plan and other related low-carbon policies so that we may meet or exceed our promised national commitment and increase our future ambition."

But this corporate support of the clean truck standards goes even further: It's another step in the evolution of corporate climate leadership. This is beyond simply supporting good policy; a number of these companies are actively shaping it to deliver significant sustainability benefits. Among the companies that distinguished themselves in this effort are:

• PepsiCo: the largest private fleet in the U.S. led the way in demonstrating the alignment between its sustainability objectives and its policy advocacy through an op-ed, and expert testimony
• Wal-Mart, the 3rd largest private fleet in the U.S., was highly proactive and constructive in its engagement on the clean truck phase two program, supporting it with public statements and expert commentary
• Cummins, FedEx, Eaton, Wabash National, Conway, and Waste Management joined PepsiCo in the Heavy Duty Leadership group that urged the EPA and DOT to: "Achieve Significant Environmental, Economic and Energy Security Benefits.
• Honeywell, Achates Power and a number of other innovators made clear that they were ready to meet the challenge of building more fuel-efficient trucks

There were hundreds more examples like these — each one of them a proactive leadership action that demonstrates the new frontier for corporate leadership. 

Securing these protections was a real team effort.  The Pew Charitable Trusts organized a letter of support for strong standards signed by IKEA, Campbell’s Soup, and many others. Ceres brought forward a strong statement from General Mills, Patagonia and more. The Union of Concerned Scientists articulated how strong rules would benefit leading fleets, including UPS, Coca-Cola and Walmart. Together, these efforts marshalled an unprecedented level of corporate support for a critical piece of climate policy. 

So, if your company is among the now hundreds of companies actively advocating for strong climate protection measures, thank you. We look forward to your continued leadership and engagement on other critical advances, including implementation of the Clean Power Plan and moving forward with reductions in methane emissions. We want to work with you to shape protective policies that also make business sense.

If, however, your company is still stuck at talking the talk, it's time to start walking the walk when it comes to supporting common sense measures like the Clean Trucks program.

You're falling behind the leadership pack in the one of the world’s most important races.

Tom Murray spearheads the Corporate Partnerships program at Environmental Defense Fund, working with multinational companies to accelerate environmental innovation in business products, services and operations. Ranked #1 for effective environmental partnerships by the Financial Times, Tom’s team has kicked off transformations in market sectors from shipping to retail, from oil and gas to private equity. This column first appeared on the Environmental Defense Fund's EDF + Business blog shortly after the EPA announced its new emissions standards for trucks. 

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