Low Hanging Fruit: Feds hand out cash to carriers that make a green case for it

OTTAWA, (Oct. 18, 2004) — They say money doesn’t grow on trees. And no, they haven’t found a new species of plant sprouting pictures of Queen Liz — that hasn’t changed. But trucking companies that do their bit to save a few pines and maples can get a shot at some cash being handed out by Transport Canada.

That’s because the department’s Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program (FSDP) has just entered its latest round and the government is looking for new partners for future projects. The program provides financial assistance to any truck, rail, aviation, marine, or intermodal freight company willing to demonstrate technologies and best practices that can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel consumption. Projects may be awarded up to 50 per cent of eligible costs to a maximum of $250,000 over a two-year period.

The $4.5-million program is led by Transport Canada’s Environmental Affairs group and Natural Resources Canada’s FleetSmart program under the Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change.

November 15 is the deadline to submit applications for the latest round of contracts but there are at least two more remaining phases under the current authority, with the next scheduled for April, 2005, says Catherine Higgens, Transport Canada’s director of environmental initiatives.

Higgens says the program, which has already awarded about $2.4 million of its budget, has a good chance of being extended another year, opening up another two possible rounds.

Several trucking fleets and related suppliers have already been selected and are just getting their various environmental projects out of the starting gate. Trucking-related proposals approved and underway include fuel-efficiency training programs, testing of anti-idling units, adoption of fuel-saving technology, and changes to existing equipment to more environmentally friendly gear.

So how do carriers get in on the action?

Higgens says much depends on the quality of the proposal. Applications are screened and selected by an independent advisory committee that evaluates the eligible proposals and decides on funding recommendations. Proposals that are incomplete, especially those lacking focus on GHG emission-reduction plans or detail on how a project will be monitored, are unlikely to get money.

The closer a technology or best practice is to the stage where it can be harnessed to reduce GHG emissions in a practical and cost-effective manner, the more likely it is to get funding, Higgens says, adding the FSDP doesn’t have any predefined quotas to meet. “This is a very flexible program. It’s not prescriptive at all,” she says.

Mississauga, Ont.-based Espar Heating Systems and three for-hire trucking partners — Big Freight Systems, Kleysen Transport, and Shandex — are just revving up their project now that winter is blowing in, says John Dennehy, Espar’s vice-president of marketing. For the next two years the companies will monitor the system — an electronic bunk heater in unison with an engine pre-heater — and report back to Transport Canada how much fuel the anti-idling devices have saved.

Yves Provencher, transportation program leader for the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada, says his job is to research and implement cost-saving initiatives for the forestry industry, and FSDP has been one of the more attractive incentives around.

The association is equipping three member fleets with tire pressure control systems. One device, from Tire Pressure Control International, will deliver adjustable optimization of tire pressure from inside the cab, while other trucks will be equipped with VAGIA Automatic Tire Pressure Systems that automatically maintain the pressure at a set level. The carriers will be able to evaluate the tire pressure systems in real time while FERIC will measure the fuel and tire savings by comparison.

“This technology can be vital to forestry,” he says. “Not only does it help with steep hills and increase traction, but we’re looking for it to reduce fuel consumption as well… We will also save on [off]-road construction by reducing the thickness of gravel since the trucks will have more floatation.”

Higgens acknowledges the participants aren’t tree-huggers, that they’re mostly in it to raise their own bottom lines. But that’s just fine with her. “We want to support a culture of continuous (environmental) improvement in the freight industry,” she says. “In order to do that we need to remove some of the barriers, including financial ones. To be really effective, we need to address real barriers.”

— Read the complete story in the October print issue of Today’s Trucking