The American Trucking Associations (ATA) received an Environmental Excellence Award today from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWaySM Transport Partnership. ATA was one of 37 SmartWaySM partners to receive this distinction for its leadership in conserving energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and freight activities. The award was presented to ATA at their annual Management Conference & Exhibit. 'I commend ATA for its leadership in promoting sustainable transportation practices through the SmartWaySM Transport Partnership,' said Margo T. Oge, Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA. 'These actions demonstrate a commitment to a cleaner environment and more secure energy supply.' SmartWaySM was introduced by EPA and a select group of fifteen shipping and business leaders in 2004 as an innovative, market-based partnership to reduce fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants from the freight sector. Today, more than 2,100 businesses and organizations have joined the partnership, including companies of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to family-owned businesses, each working to improve their environmental performance. Participant carriers and owner-operators commit to integrate innovative fuel saving and pollution control technologies and strategies into their fleet operations, while shippers and logistics companies commit to increasing the percentage of freight shipped by SmartWaySM carriers and encouraging carriers to join the program. Together, through the SmartWaySM Partnership, these companies will eliminate six million tons of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming and save more than 540 million gallons of diesel fuel ' an economic savings of at least $2 billion a year. 'Participation in the SmartWaySM Partnership is just one great way the trucking industry can conserve energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions,' said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. 'ATA advocates further strategies that aim to significantly reduce fuel consumption over the next 10 years.' In addition to participation in EPA's SmartWaySM Partnership, ATA supports a national 65 mph speed limit, governing truck speeds at 65 mph or below, reducing engine idling, reducing congestion by increasing highway capacity, using more productive trucks and setting national fuel economy standards for trucks. These sustainability initiatives will reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons over the next 10 years, reducing the carbon footprint of all vehicles by nearly a billion tons. Many ATA members also received the Environmental Excellence Award, including: C.R. England, Inc.; Celadon Trucking Services Inc.; Challenger Motor Freight Inc.; Covenant Transport, Inc.; Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP; Gordon Trucking Inc.; Knight Transportation, Inc.; Kraft Foods Global, Inc.; Lowe's Companies Inc.; LTI Trucking Services, Inc.; Menlo Worldwide Logistics; PepsiCo, Inc.; Roehl Transport, Inc.; Schneider National, Inc.; Swift Transportation Co.; Transplace; UPS; US Xpress Enterprises, Inc./Xpress Global Systems; and USG Corporation. (ATA)