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IBM received a 2007 SmartWay Excellence Award today at a special awards ceremony held during the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' annual
conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The SmartWay Excellence Awards, in their second year, recognize companies and organizations that have made
significant contributions to protect the environment through their participation in the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership. This recognition is particularly notable since IBM just joined the Partnership in 2006.
The SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaborative, voluntary program between the U.S. EPA and the industry, including manufacturers who ship products
and freight carriers and logistics companies. The Partnership creates strong market-based incentives that challenge participating companies to improve
the environmental performance of their freight operations. SmartWay Transport Partners improve their energy efficiency, save money, reduce greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions and improve air quality.
As a shipper of freight in the Partnership, IBM committed to develop an action plan to:
- Determine the percentage of freight shipped by SmartWay Transport Partnership carriers;
- Measure the GHG emissions of its freight facility operations using the U.S. EPA's Freight Logistics Environmental and Energy Tracking (FLEET) Performance Model for shippers;
- Identify a goal to reduce the GHG emissions from freight facility operations; and
- Report progress toward achieving its action plan to the U.S. EPA annually.
In addition, IBM is engaging its transport carriers to develop a plan to reduce GHG emissions from their transport operations. IBM is also encouraging its
transport carriers to participate in the SmartWay Transport Partnership through its contract negotiation processes.
In just under a year as a SmartWay Transport Partner, IBM achieved substantial results thanks to the coordinated efforts of the company's Global
Logistics, Procurement and Corporate Environmental Affairs teams which included:
- Submitting a comprehensive SmartWay Transport Partnership action plan -- a plan which the U.S. EPA is now using as a benchmark for other participants;
- Increasing its percentage of U.S. spending with SmartWay carriers by nearly 25%;
- Engaging several of its major transportation and logistics carriers to join the SmartWay Transport Partnership;
- Creating and distributing "truck idling practice surveys" to be completed at all IBM Americas dock locations (and now dock locations outside of the
Americas to obtain a global understanding of dock practices); and
- Developing environmental statements to be used with IBM's contracted transport carriers -- both domestic and international.
Currently, over 80% (by transport dollar spending) of the goods shipped by IBM within the U.S., and from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico, are transported by
SmartWay Transport Partnership carriers, compared to 55% when the company joined the Partnership.
IBM continues to look at ways it can further reduce GHG emissions associated with its freight facility operations and the shipping of its products. Through
global integration and collaboration, IBM's leadership is benefiting not only its own business, but its clients and the environment.
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