Looks like the United States Environmental Protection Agency continues to appreciate Whirlpool's corporate supply chain performance when it comes to energy efficiency. For the second consecutive year, the Benton Harbor-based appliance giant's Integrated Supply Chain team has been honored with a SmartWay Award from the agency.
The SmartWay Award is reserved for industry leaders in supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency. Each year the SmartWay Excellence Awards program recognizes just one-percent of the top 3,000 supply-chain partners of the EPA. This year, the Whirlpool Corporation ISC is one of only 9 companies to receive the distinction. Whirlpool was recognized in the large shipper category, which represents companies that move goods more than 500-million miles every year.
The selection process for the award considers factors such as environmental leadership through effective collaboration, advanced technology and operational practices, robust SmartWay data validation and reporting, communication and public outreach and implementation of sustainability practices in local communities.
Alison Jones is Senior Director of North American Logistics at Whirlpool Corporation. Jones says, "It's an honor to receive this prestigious award from the EPA — and a tremendous accomplishment to win it in back-to-back years," adding, "We're proud of our commitment to the environment, which is driven by our conscious decision to ship our products with environmental efficiency."
Launched in 2004, SmartWay is an EPA program that aims to accelerate advanced fuel efficient technologies and operational practices in transportation, while helping partners save fuel, lower costs, and reduce negative environmental impacts.
Christopher Grundler is the Director of EPA's Office of Transportation & Air Quality. He says, "SmartWay Shipper Partners understand that by improving supply chain efficiency, they not only reduce freight transport costs, but also reduce emissions of the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change." He concludes, "Participating in EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership helps these businesses move goods in a manner that is better for business and helps protect our climate."
The 2016 SmartWay Excellence Awards were presented earlier this year at the annual meeting of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in Florida and Whirlpool's Kara Hegg accepted the award on behalf of the company in her role as Transportation Carrier Manager.
Whirlpool requires contracted carriers to be SmartWay certified. Currently 99.79-percent of North American shipments for the company are moved with SmartWay carriers. Last year alone Whirlpool reduced fuel consumption by more than 250,000 gallons by increasing rail transportation. That action reduced more 2,700 metric tons of CO2 emissions for the year.
