Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the mission still stands; to build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet. This year’s Earth Day celebrations will look very different with the global pandemic affecting everyone around the world. In a matter of months, the world has been transformed. With air travel virtually stopped, businesses who are usually bustling closed, and many people isolated at home; we can truly see how our daily actions are impacting the environment.
As you may have seen in the media, many tourist towns and attractions have seen undeniable improvements in their environment. The canals in Venice are running clear, people in India can see the Himalayan mountain range for the first time in almost 30 years and satellite imaging is showing a remarkable difference in emissions and reduced air pollution. For the time-being, let’s celebrate the world healing.
As a trucking company, we are always conscious and are looking for new ways to decrease our carbon footprint. We are committed to ensuring we go above and beyond industry environmental standards.
Erb is a SmartWay Transport Partner, which is an innovative collaboration between the U.S., Canada, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry. This collaboration is designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. Erb is proud to be part of an innovative and progressive step forward in the fight for a cleaner environment.
Erb also has many other initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint:
- Aerodynamic Tractors: Our new tractors with full chassis skirts and full roof fairings are contributing to an overall improvement in our fuel economy
- Auxiliary Power Units: Instead of using diesel fuel, we now operate with auxiliary power units which are battery operated. These batteries charge while the truck is driving, and provide the driver with 8-10 consecutive hours of air conditioning or heat (whichever is required). We also have anti-idle; if the battery power is, for any reason, too low, they immediately begin self-charging.
- Computerized Transmissions: Our trucks are, primarily, no longer manual. There are roughly eight computers in each truck, and our transmissions and engines are able to talk to each other. This ensures that the truck is always in the correct gear to give the driver the best performance and fuel economy.
- Eco Mud Flaps: The patented aerodynamic design of the Eco Flaps splash guard offers a simple solution to two of the greatest challenges in the transportation industry today – reducing fuel costs and improving performance
- Fuel Economy – We prioritize fuel economy and strive to conserve fuel whenever possible. We have fuel economy packages that come with our trucks, which enable us to emit fewer emissions into the environment. We also exclusively use high quality fuel to ensure the performance of our engines.
- LCV’s: Long Combination Vehicles were introduced to high volume traffic corridors, reducing miles and saving fuel and reducing greenhouse gases
- Solar Panels: Our pup trailers (43 ft trailers) are equipped with solar panels to charge the liftgate batteries, conserving fuel
- Tire Inflation Systems: Our Tiremaax systems minimize tire wear by providing a responsive approach to help extend tire life and increase fuel efficiency by keeping trailer tires properly inflated and rolling smoothly
- Tractor Tires: Our fuel efficient tires are SmartWay verified because of the reduced rolling resistance from the dual energy compound tread which extends mileage and the lifetime of the tire.
- Trailer Tails: The first adopters in the Canadian trucking industry, these aerodynamic tails are one of our most significant initiatives, which improve fuel efficiency by 5.5% by streamlining airflow and reducing rear drag.
- Trailer Tires: Ecopia tires are loaded with new technologies and innovations from revolutionary low rolling resistance design to advanced tread compounds, they are setting the standard in terms of eco-performance
- Truck Specs: Using the latest technology in automated transmissions, our high torque engine packages offer cleaner exhaust emissions through diesel exhaust fluid technology
- Two-way Telematics: We introduced OrbComm, two-way telematics for reefer control which can be remotely started and stopped, and the temperature settings can be adjusted to conserve fuel and be more efficient
The Erb Group of Companies is proud to participate in leading initiatives within the transportation industry. Earth Day reminds us that when it comes to important issues like the environment, we must be firmly committed to going the extra mile. Let’s fight today for a better tomorrow. Happy Earth Day!
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