Transportation and logistics provider Schneider is more than halfway to one of its emission-reduction per mile targets, according to its second annual corporate responsibility report.
The company’s environmental, social and governance report was released last week and reflects activities and data from 2021.
“We recognize the importance of having a positive impact and sharing our progress toward our ESG goals,” Schneider President and CEO Mark Rourke said in the release. “This year’s report highlights our continued dedication to our core values and making meaningful change that will impact our associates, communities and stakeholders.”
The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based company has nearly 200 facilities, about 9,000 tractors, 36,700 trailers, 20,600 intermodal chassis and 25,600 intermodal containers worldwide, according to a release. Schneider’s (NYSE: SNDR) annual revenue in 2021 was $5.6 billion.
In 2020, Schneider set four sustainability goals:
- Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7.5% per mile by 2025.
- Double use of intermodal by 2030, reducing carbon emissions by 700 million pounds per year.
- Reduce carbon emissions per mile by 60% by 2035.
- Reach carbon neutrality in all company-owned facilities by 2035.
The company is over halfway to its 2025 emissions reduction target since it has reduced emissions per mile by 5% since establishing its baseline in 2020, based on 2019 metrics. Schneider also increased its intermodal container capacity by 15% in 2021.
The report did not include data or plans to reduce scope 2 (indirect) or scope 3 (supply chain-related) emissions, which experts say will grow in importance over the next few years.
Emission-reduction strategies
Schneider plans to reduce emissions by:
- Reducing empty miles.
- Expanding its intermodal capacity.
- Consolidating freight.
- Optimizing its networks.
- Reducing energy consumption in facilities.
- Improving efficiency in its current vehicles.
- Adding electric vehicles to its fleet.
In 2021, Schneider announced the addition of 62 Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 electric trucks to its intermodal operations in Southern California. According to the report, Schneider now has “one of the largest electric fleets in North America.”
A former diesel technician and current Schneider truck driver, Marty Boots, tested an eCascadia electric truck and said: “They’re looking for driver feedback and how to make their product work better. I felt it was my job to push the equipment to see how close I could get to empty every day and utilize as much electricity as I could and be as productive with the truck as possible.”
Boots said less highway noise, a smoother ride going uphill and knowing it is helping the environment would make him likely to prefer driving an electric semi-truck in the future.
Schneider deployed 330 Rocketail rear fairings systems on trailers in 2021 to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency.
The report said Schneider is updating lighting at its facilities to high-efficiency LED lighting, but it did not disclose how many of its facilities are currently lit by high-efficiency LEDs versus less efficient bulbs.
The company’s new innovation center in Green Bay, the Grove, will use geothermal energy and an array of solar Smartflowers to power the building. The “high-tech and sustainable” aspects of the facility represent Schneider’s vision, the report said.
Schneider’s social sustainability
In 2021, 97 of Schneider’s drivers received the Million Mile Award for transporting freight more than 1 million miles accident-free. The Consecutive Safe Driving Year Award was achieved by 117 of Schneider’s drivers in 2021 for 10 consecutive years of accident-free driving.
Schneider was selected as a Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation by the Women in Trucking Association in 2021. Almost every category showing representation of women and people of color in various roles at Schneider showed slight increases from 2020 to 2021.
The company donated more than $2.25 million in grants through the Schneider Foundation in 2021 to support local communities. Launched in 2020, the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion grant program provided funding for diversity recruitment initiatives and partnerships with two historically Black colleges and universities, Prairie View A&M and North Carolina A&T.
Schneider has been named a top military friendly employer “many times over,” the report said. More than 13.5% of Schneider associates have a military background. The company participates in the Military Apprenticeship Program with the Department of Labor and the Department of Veteran Affairs. The program allows service members to learn a new trade while using their GI Bill benefits.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Alyssa Sporrer.
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