The National Biodiesel Board has teamed up with two companies to launch a pilot program to show how much lower emissions are using biodiesel. NBB, along with Chicago-based Indigenous Energy, LLC, developers of emissions tracking systems, and Los Angeles-based States Logistics, a fleet and logistics company using clean technology, to put together the six-month over-the-road test.
This press release from the NBB says when they are finished, they’ll put together a report that quantifies States Logistics’ emissions and carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction from using biodiesel:
So far, results for May and June showed a 16.5 ton reduction in CO2 emissions.
“The pilot program uses our patent-pending technology and reporting system with inputs from States Logistics over-the-road activity to show carbon and emissions reduction,” said Peter Probst, President and Director of Research & Development, Indigenous Energy. “States Logistics is a perfect company to develop the pilot because of their commitment to using biodiesel and the concern of their customers for environmental stewardship.”
States Logistics uses B5 and B99 in seven 2007 trucks, running on average approximately 27,000 miles a month. The pilot program takes into account several areas to measure carbon footprint including vehicle type, distance traveled, number of gallons used, percentage of biodiesel used and biodiesel feedstock type, such as soybean oil. The end result is a report on total CO2 emitted from both the petroleum diesel and biodiesel, CO2 reduction from using biodiesel and the quantifiable cost to offset petroleum CO2. The results will be presented at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March.
Eventually, the information can be used by companies to sell carbon offsets. But for now, States Logistics is using it to demonstrate to its customers why it uses biodiesel and how it is good for the Earth… a goal the NBB has in mind:
“When we announced the BioTrucker Fuel Card last year at GATS, we thought about next steps for providing value to cardholders,” said Tom Verry, Director of Outreach and Development for NBB. “This CO2 reduction reporting could become a value-add report for fleets to use as a publicity tool for their customers.”