Four Class Is among Inbound Logistics' top 75 'Green Supply Chain Partners'

The four largest U.S. Class Is are included on Inbound Logistics' 2014 list of the top 75 "Green Supply Chain Partners."

The listed companies are recognized for demonstrating a commitment to sustainable supply chain, logistics and transportation practices, as well as for their corporate sustainability initiatives, collaborative customer-driven projects and participation in public-private partnerships.

Inbound Logistics honored BNSF Railway Co. for employing a range of technologies that support its emission-reduction efforts, including GenSet locomotives. BNSF operates 74 GenSets in Texas and California. In addition, more than 70 percent of the Class I's 6,600 locomotives are equipped with idle-control devices.

CSX Corp. made the list for applying friction modifiers and adding idle-reducing devices to its locomotives. The railroad also is employing "trailing unit shutdowns" by powering down non-lead locomotives when not in use and optimizing horsepower. In 2013, CSX saved 1.8 million gallons of fuel via trailing unit shutdowns.

Inbound Logistics listed Norfolk Southern Railway for completing a large portion of its Trees and Trains project, an initiative aimed at reforesting 10,000 acres in the Mississippi Delta with more than 6 million native hardwoods and cottonwoods. The reforested land eventually will generate 1.1 million tons of carbon-offset credits, equivalent to one-fifth of NS' annual carbon emissions.

Finally, Union Pacific Railroad made the list by convincing more shippers to use rail instead of trucks, eliminating an estimated 33.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. UP also diverted more than 830,000 million tons of waste from landfills, recycled or distributed more than 400,000 pounds of electronic equipment and nearly 1.4 million pounds of signal batteries, and tested a GenSet fitted with diesel particulate filters designed to further reduce particulate matter emissions.

The list also includes Fedex, the Georgia Ports Authority, Hub Group, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Maryland Port Administration, Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, Railex, South Carolina Ports Authority, Schneider and UPS.