Owens & Minor’s Environmentally Friendly Fleet-Management Practices Enable Certification into the EPA’s SmartWaySM Transport Partnership
RICHMOND, Va.--Owens & Minor, Inc., is pleased to announce that it has joined the SmartWaySM Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry. The SmartWay Transport Partnership is designed to increase energy efficiency, while at the same time, significantly reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution. Owens & Minor’s private fleet and its energy-efficient business practices earned the SmartWay Performance score of 1.25, the highest rating available in the SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Through its fleet management practices, Owens & Minor will contribute to the Partnership's goal to reduce 33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year by 2012, through improvement in the environmental performance of private fleet operations. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, and nitrogen oxide is an air pollutant that contributes to smog. By joining SmartWay Transport Partnership, Owens & Minor is demonstrating its belief in strong environmental leadership and corporate responsibility.
“By continuously striving to make our nationwide fleet more fuel efficient and cost-effective in order to better serve our healthcare customers, we are also doing our part to help the environment, and that is important for our industry, our company, our teammates and our customers,” said Craig R. Smith, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. “We look forward to finding new ways to collaborate with customers and carriers to make even stronger contributions to increased energy efficiency. Owens & Minor is honored to join this partnership and pleased that we achieved the highest rating from the SmartWay Transport Partnership.”
Owens & Minor has already made improvements in fuel economy by reducing vehicle speed, enabling automatic idle shutdown, replacing older equipment and choosing new equipment with automatic transmissions. Owens & Minor fleet management teammates and drivers will continue to research ways to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by continuing to work closely with the SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Launched in February 2004, the SmartWay Transport Partnership aims to achieve fuel savings of up to 150 million barrels of fuel per year. The Partnership brings together major freight shippers, trucking companies, railroads, logistics companies and trade and professional associations to pursue mutually beneficial efficiencies that result in emissions reductions and other environmental improvements, as well as cost savings to the companies. The Partnership currently has more than 2,000 partners. All SmartWay Partners are recognized for their commitment to reducing emissions in their fleets. According to the Partnership, a score of 1.25 represents outstanding environmental performance. These Partners already are utilizing most of the commercially available fuel saving strategies and are actively evaluating the latest emerging technologies.
Owens & Minor, Inc., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company. Owens & Minor is also a member of the Russell 2000® Index, which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, as well as the S&P MidCap 400, which includes companies with a market capitalization of $750 million to $3.3 billion that meet certain financial standards. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate care locations, group purchasing organizations, and the federal government. Owens & Minor provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain--from origin of product to patient bedside. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company Web site at www.owens-minor.com.