As a country, our cities and resources are so geographically dispersed and we so dependent on trade that we demand a great deal from transportation. In fact, much of our country’s success as a trading nation, and many of the advances in supply chain management that have driven that wealth over the past two decades, have a lot to do with improvements in how we manage transportation.

Yet the very success of our transportation system is what’s leading to its greatest challenge: its sizeable greenhouse gas footprint.

But in every challenge there is opportunity. That’s something we’ve strongly believed since publishing our first annual Green to Gold supplement seven years ago. Back then sustainable transportation practices or “green transportation” as most called it, was just beginning to become a topic of discussion in the boardrooms of most major shippers and carriers.

When large players such as Wal-Mart, IKEA, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Home Depot and Unilever began to move towards more sustainable supply chain practices, carriers began to take notice. For our part, we believed that with the transportation sector being the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, it was prudent for the industry to become actively involved in devising the new way forward rather than to be left reacting to eventual shipper and government edicts.

Seven years later we are seeing sustainable transportation practices evolve beyond the boardrooms of pioneers such as Bison Transport and Robert Transport to carriers of all sizes. Carriers are coming to understand that investment in fuel efficient products, practices and training for their people pays off for the environment and the bottom line.

Our goal then, and now, is to inform fleet managers and executives about the latest technologies, programs and strategies being used to reduce the carbon footprint.

We hope you enjoy our latest Green to Gold supplement on sustainable transportation practices. As we’ve mentioned many times before, if you take the time to do it right, you can turn green into gold.

Lou Smyrlis

Editorial Director

FROM THE SPONSOR

Bridgestone’s environmental mission is to help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations. Our objectives are to work in harmony with nature, emphasizing the value of natural resources and reducing CO2 emissions – in our operations, products and services, and in working with our communities. These commitments are not only designed to benefit our shared environment, they are good for business. Bridgestone products help customers improve fuel efficiency through proprietary compounds and design while achieving excellent tread life through patented technologies, enabling multiple re-use with Bandag® retreading – saving them resources and money