The B20 Club of Illinois is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with a new milestone in adoption of biodiesel with 110 million gallons of biodiesel blends of 20% and higher used by members in the state since 2014.

The B20 Club is an award-winning partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff program and the American Lung Association. It represents a diverse group of Illinois fleets, companies and organizations dedicated to cleaner air and more sustainable operations through production and use of biodiesel.

Starting with a handful of fleets in 2014, the B20 Club has since grown to 30-plus members, representing a cross section of the transportation industry. Fleet members represent municipalities, park districts, fuel suppliers, mass transit operators, trucking companies, utility companies, marine vessel operators, environmental companies and more. Affiliate members include not-for-profits, government agencies and other organizations that support B20 as a high-quality fuel source. Associate members encompass biodiesel producers and marketers.

“By fueling with biodiesel, our members have prevented significant levels of harmful pollutants from entering the air over the past ten years, including more than 123,000 pounds of particulate matter and 196,000 tons of carbon dioxide and equivalents (CO2e). That translates to an estimated $25 million in heath related savings and a carbon reduction equivalent to planting more than 3.3 million trees,” said Bailey Arnold, director of clean air initiatives at the Lung Association and program lead for the B20 Club of Illinois.