At this year’s ACT Expo annual Fleet Awards event, seven fleet operators were recognized for extraordinary accomplishments that serve as examples for fleet operators worldwide, related to emission reduction and sustainability.
“ACT Expo’s Fleet Awards recognize the fleet operators that have gone above and beyond in pursuing advanced clean transportation,” said Erik Neandross, CEO of Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA), a clean transportation and energy consulting firm which hosts ACT Expo. “We had over 250 submissions, with fleets from all over America displaying exciting work.”
The 2021 Fleet Awards were sponsored by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC).
Awards were presented across seven fleet categories:
Leading Carrier Award: Purolator
In recognition of fleets that are making a difference by helping electrify the supply chain, the 2021 Leading Carrier winner is Purolator, which demonstrated how electric vehicles can maintain uptime and manage the 50% increase in residential deliveries that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Purolator has been deploying all-electric step vans from Motiv Power Systems to complement their fleet of hybrid-electric vehicles.
Leading Off Road Fleet: Lazer Spot Inc.
In recognition of organizations that are demonstrating leadership in some of the most difficult to electrify environments, the 2021 Leading Off Road Fleet award winner is Lazer Spot, Inc., which operates a pilot fleet of EVs with 24 electric terminal tractors, and more on order. The company has set an aggressive goal of committing more than 1,300 of their yard tractors across the nation in the next eight to 10 years and have a clear plan to rapidly deploy them during the next year.
Leading School Fleet: Fulton County Schools
In recognition of school district fleets which have actively chosen a path toward clean transportation to the benefit of their students and communities, the 2021 Leading School Fleet award winner is Fulton County Schools, which aggressively converted more than 400 of its vehicles to propane and was able to leverage the savings to increase pay for its drivers. Fulton County Schools plans to use available grant funding to purchase an additional 300 new low-emission buses.
Leading Public Fleet: Port Authority of NY & NJ
In recognition of the public agencies that are forging a path ahead toward cleaner air and fewer emissions, the 2021 Leading Public Fleet winner is Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is making use of a wide variety of low-emission vehicles. To help manage one of the largest and most complex port systems in the country, this year’s winner is utilizing a fleet of at least 101 battery-electric vehicles, 2,934 hybrids, 69 plugin hybrids, 23 dedicated propane trucks, and 889 flex fuel vehicles as part of an effort to support the Paris Agreement, setting aggressive interim greenhouse gas reduction targets that call for a 35% reduction by 2025 and an 80% reduction by 2050.
Leading Private Fleet: Anheuser-Busch
In recognition of companies who are deploying vehicles and making real efforts towards clean transportation, the 2021 Leading Private Fleet winner is Anheuser-Busch, which has made excellent use of its compressed natural vehicles and has deployed renewable natural gas at two locations. The company has also taken delivery of BYD electric trucks and has made large commitments to purchasing electric and hydrogen-electric trucks in the future.
Transit and Mobility Award: GIG Car Share/Electrify America
In recognition of organizations demonstrating leadership in sustainable passenger transport, including buses, taxis, car sharing, and shuttles, the 2021 Transit and Mobility Award winner is Electrify America for its GIG Car Share in Sacramento, California, which provides innovative and popular free-float car-share service. Working together with the City of Sacramento, Electrify America established and funded a zero-emissions car sharing initiative with GIG Car Share, creating an all-electric fleet to enable residents to live less car-dependent lifestyles.
In it for the Long Haul Award: Penske Truck Leasing
New for ACT Expo 2021, the this award recognizes an ongoing and sustained commitment to outstanding performance in clean transportation. Fleets recognized with this award have gone above and beyond, doing the hard work of building a sustainable future. This year’s winner, Penske Truck Leasing, has a proven commitment to implement electric vehicle technology and has been innovating in the sustainable transportation field for a very long time. The company has logged over 15,000 miles of real-world use with two heavy duty Freightliner eCascadias, another 6,000 miles on 3 eM2s on California roads, and has converted several of its 200-mile per day diesel routes to electric trucks, with a commitment to doing even more.
