Truckipedia Blog Category - Eco-Friendly Trucking – How To Do Your Part

Eco-friendly trucking – how to do your part

Environmental sustainability is a key focus for every industry right now. Trucking is no different. Collectively, as manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and trucking companies themselves, we are all taking a long look at ways to be more eco-friendly now and into the future. We have never had a better understanding of the long-term impacts of continuing to do things ‘the old way’ than we do right now.

As a key partner for owners and operators, we love sharing our expertise on the best approach to sustainability, while also investing in new ways of doing our own business. Here is some of the advice we provide to our customers when we’re talking about eco-friendly trucking.

Plan your routes

There’s a way to get from Point A to Point B and then there is the optimal way of getting from Point A to Point B. Finding that ideal route does a great deal of good for the environment and can be as simple as planning out a route the night before. For example, make use of your GPS route maps to identify road closures or slowdowns that will see you burning unnecessary fuel.

GPS tracking devices can also be a great source of data for owners and operators to make eco-friendly decisions a part of their everyday planning. Rather than relying on learned knowledge from individual drivers, you can use the real-time and historical data to educate all drivers on the most efficient ways of navigating their journeys.

Bonus route planning tips from our team: When you’re travelling through busy urban areas, plan your time so that you are either earlier or later than typical rush-hour times. Sitting idle in traffic burns your fuel quickly! Similarly, finding routes that allow you to maintain a steady cruising speed on the highway will help conserve fuel and make you more environmentally friendly.

Maintain your vehicle(s)

One of the most environmentally friendly things you can do as a trucking company and an individual driver is to take care of your truck. Stay on top of your regular maintenance schedule and don’t delay on any additional work that needs to be done on your vehicle. Just like your car, a truck that isn’t running well uses and emits more fuel than one that has all the necessary upkeep. In fact, just keeping your engine air filter clean can keep your fuel efficiency from dropping up to 10%!

Looking for other ways to improve your fuel efficiency and keep more money in your pocket? We recently ran a blog and social media series on this very topic. Read the blog or follow us on LinkedIn for all other great tips from our team of experts.

Investigate new technologies

While not as widely publicized, the green technologies that are growing in use for everyday vehicles are finding their way to commercial trucks and busses as well. Hybrid and fully electric trucks are hitting the market in greater numbers than ever before and supporting infrastructure is in development to make them a viable option for long-haul transport.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) also powers more than 23 million vehicles worldwide and provide a great alternative fuel option for high-mileage, centrally-fuelled fleets that stay within a region well-supported by CNG stations. Fleets powered by CNG are readily available in British Columbia and several local companies have adopted the technology to move around the Lower Mainland.

Finally, hydrogen fuel cell technology presents a very interesting development for trucking. These vehicles are extremely quiet, which is particularly important in urban areas. They can also sustain prolonged use for long-haul trucking, with their only emission by-product being water vapour. While still largely in testing phases, this makes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles an extremely environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional trucks over the long term.

Did you know our teams in Edmonton and Vancouver are fully certified to service hydrogen and alternative fuel vehicles? You’ll always have an expert by your side for these new and innovative technologies.

Your team of experts on eco-friendly trucking

The drive for a cleaner world is not going away, nor should it. By shirking the conversation or avoiding taking action on eco-friendly initiatives, companies stand to get left behind by consumers and other businesses. Companies like Amazon are stepping up their adoption of environmentally-friendly practices, while also demanding that the transport companies that support them make progressive moves as well. We expect to see more of these moves made in our industry as well.

In all our conversations, we at Velocity Truck Centres see a trucking industry that is ready to respond to a new way of working. If you need guidance from a team of experts on how to adopt and adapt to these new demands, please reach out to us for more information. We’d love to help get you up and running!