Saddle Creek Honored for Innovations in Sustainability

We’re proud to report that Saddle Creek has once again been recognized for environmental leadership by leading industry publications. We’ve recently been named a 2017 Green Supply Chain Partner (G75) by Inbound Logistics magazine and a 2017 Top Green Provider by Food Logistics magazine.

Saddle Creek was an early adopter of compressed-natural-gas (CNG), one of the cleanest-burning alternative fuels. In just five years, Saddle Creek has expanded its CNG fleet by nearly 400 percent and now has operations in Jacksonville, Fla.; Atlanta and Valdosta, Ga.; and Fort Worth, Texas. The fleet of almost 200 trucks handles a variety of products for dozens of industry leaders.

Each of Saddle Creek’s CNG trucks saves about 120,000 pounds of carbon per year – a total of over 21 million pounds annually. The eco-friendly fleet traveled more than 20 million miles in the past year. By using CNG trucks instead of diesel, Saddle Creek has replaced over 15 million gallons of diesel with natural gas since launching the fleet.

Finding New Ways to Minimize Fuel Use and Emissions

In addition to the CNG fleet, Saddle Creek has purchased 20 new diesel tractors with Freightliner’s RunSmart Predictive Cruise Control software which helps trucks ascend hills at peak fuel efficiency. Thirteen of these tractors also have Downsped technology that helps reduce fuel use. (The remaining tractors have high-efficiency diesel engines.)

To further reduce emissions, Saddle Creek is converting older diesel tractors into dual CNG-diesel fuel vehicles. By replacing diesel-fueled engines with EPA-certified CNG engines, they will replace as much as 70 percent of the diesel used with natural gas. The dual fuel conversion extends the life of these vehicles by six years.

Saddle Creek is also exploring the potential of the ultra-low NOx heavy-duty engine, the world’s first heavy-duty engine that emits oxides of nitrogen (NOx) at levels so low they are considered “near zero.”

Saddle Creek continues to seek out new strategies to help minimize the company’s footprint. Learn more about our commitment to sustainability.