Penske given 2013 U.S. EPA SmartWay Affiliate Challenge Award

Penske Truck Leasing has been named a 2013 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Affiliate Challenge Award winner. As one of seven organizations nationwide to win this award, Penske is the only transportation company to receive this honor.

"We are proud of our partnership with SmartWay and we're very pleased to win this award," said Drew Cullen, Penske Truck Leasing vice president of fuels and telecommunication services. "We take pride in assisting our customers with becoming more sustainable while incorporating best practices within our own truck rental, truck leasing and logistics operations."

The SmartWay Affiliate Challenge is a national challenge developed by EPA to acknowledge SmartWay Affiliates that have initiated and executed exceptional recruiting, promotional and marketing activities in support of the EPA's goals to reduce truck emissions and improve freight efficiency.

The challenge was open to all SmartWay Affiliates. Participating organizations submitted an application and supporting materials describing various activities they accomplished during the period of March 1, 2012 to March 1, 2013. There were several ways that Penske promoted the SmartWay Transport Partnership:

• The hosting of educational events for customers via webinars and one-on-one education, strategy and recruiting sessions.
• Attending and presenting at sustainability conferences and college symposiums.
• Ongoing recruiting of customers to join SmartWay.
• Assisting customers with the completion of the program's Truck Carrier FLEET models and helping them to establish miles per gallon (mpg) and emissions benchmarking that correlate with SmartWay Carrier Performance Rankings.

"I commend Penske for promoting sustainable transportation to their members through the SmartWay Transport Partnership," said Christopher Grundler, director of the office of transportation and air quality, EPA. "The level of commitment, enthusiasm and creativity demonstrated by this year's honorees are helping us achieve our mutual goals for cleaner air and a more sustainable transportation supply chain."