Consumers are asking for products that have less negative impact on the environment. Sustainable shipping of those products, using renewable fuel and other methods for reducing emissions and increasing fuel economy, is part of the solution. Biodiesel’s American-made roots and reduced lifecycle CO2 emissions over straight petroleum make it a perfect candidate for sustainable shipping.
Granted, most of the shippers looking for sustainable shipping methods are producing or distributing products that appeal to environmentally conscious consumers—for example, recycled paper products and organic food. But, this is a huge and growing customer-base for truckers and commercial fleets. As a matter of fact, Blue Sky Shipping of San Francisco fields calls every week from shippers wanting to use biodiesel when transporting their goods. Blue Sky can only service the San Francisco Bay area with their seven trucks that run on B100 sourced only from used restaurant grease. Blue Sky is developing a “Sustainable Trucking Network” of mostly owner-operators who use biodiesel. When the company gets a call from either a current customer, such as New Leaf Paper, or a new customer that is outside the Bay area, they have a network of truckers to service the customer. Charles Whitwam, owner of Blue Sky Shipping, said, “Our customers love the fact that we use biodiesel. By shipping with biodiesel, they do their part to lower greenhouse gasses.”
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Another example is Clif Bar & Co. of Berkley, Calif. Their customers want peace of mind that the energy snacks they consume were produced and transported in sustainable ways. So, to accomplish this, Clif Bar asked its Los Angeles-based carrier, States Logistics, to use biodiesel when shipping their goods. States Logistics liked biodiesel so much it now uses the fuel in all of its trucks, including three vehicles powered by soy-based B99 and four that run on B5. A recent joint study with the National Biodiesel Board showed that over a six-month period, States Logistics reduced CO2 emissions by about 70 tons versus using straight petroleum diesel. Ryan Donovan, vice president of operations and business development for States Logistics, said, “This is something that we do for our customers, like Clif Bar & Co., and they can tell their customers. We all benefit from using biodiesel to reduce our carbon footprint throughout the supply chain.”
Even the largest U.S. carriers use biodiesel. JB Hunt has long fueled with biodiesel in states such as Illinois, where a state tax incentive keeps the cost of B11 often lower than straight petroleum diesel. But recently a customer, Method Home, requested that only biodiesel be used when shipping their goods. The owners desire to ship their “green” home and personal care products sustainably. Method Home is one of the fastest growing consumer products companies in North America. Jerrod Mounce of JB Hunt said, “We have positioned ourselves to be able to meet our customers’ demand for more sustainable transportation solutions, and biodiesel is one way we are able to do that.”
Grassroots demand for sustainable shipping with biodiesel will rely on the revised renewable fuel standard (RFS2) to ensure an adequate supply. The amount of one billion gallons of biomass-based diesel by 2012 required by the RFS2 can easily be met by the existing biodiesel industry. But, a dispute has arisen over what qualifies as a feedstock for biomass-based diesel, based on life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals.
After Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which contains RFS2 goals, they left interpretation to the U.S. EPA. In its interpretation, EPA is taking into account land-use change—chopping down forests—when determining GHG reduction measures for biomass-based diesel. Based on the EPA’s gauge, the only current commercially produced biodiesel that qualifies is made from used restaurant grease. About 70 percent of biodiesel produced in the U.S. is made from soybean oil, so clearly the RFS2 cannot be met with used restaurant grease alone.
If first use biodiesel is not included in the RFS2, then much of the biodiesel produced in the U.S. will not qualify. The “land use change” debate should not apply to the U.S. farmer. No substantial amount of new farm land is being developed in the U.S. for growing oil producing crops, such as soybeans. As a matter of fact, total cropland acres in the U.S. shrunk from 445 billion acres in 1997 to 406 billion in 2007, according to the USDA.
So far, the EPA has agreed to grandfather-in biodiesel from plants in production or under construction by December 2007 as it did for existing ethanol production. The EPA will continue to study the affect of indirect emissions based on land-use changes, but the biodiesel industry needs them to act now. As stated by the National Biodiesel Board, “The RFS2 volume goals simply cannot be met if vegetable oils are disqualified from the program. There is no indication that Congress sought to impose a penalty on existing production of biodiesel, which does not significantly impact land use change.”
Enforcing the RFS2 as originally stated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ensures that home-grown, American-made biodiesel is widely available for shipping goods and services. As the debate over life-cycle GHG reduction, based on land-use changes, continues to delay enforcement of the RFS2, the biodiesel industry is held in limbo. One redeeming fact is that more and more consumers want to know that the products they consume were shipped sustainably, causing enlightened companies across the country to take action—often in the form of shipping only with carriers using biodiesel.
Sharon Bell is a public relations professional representing clients in the biodiesel industry. Reach her at sharonb@shriverproductions.com or (972) 352-8698.