I Hope I Won’t Be Saying “I Told You So” to Limousine Companies

New Legislation is set to alter the way America deals with climate change.

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I have been telling limousine and ground transportation companies, for a while, that environmental sustainability is not a fad, a trend, or even an option.  I have also been saying (well, actually insisting, I’m afraid) that we, as an industry, better get ahead of the environmental curve and start setting our own environmental standards and sustainability programs before we are legislated and regulated by politicians and bureaucrats that have little to no knowledge of our industry, other than of course, riding in our vehicles.

On Monday, June 2, 2008, the U.S. Senate will begin debate on new climate change/global warming legislation – The -Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.  Enviromedia Social Marketing has a good article summarizing the proposed legislation and what they believe the pros and cons of the Bill are.  But, the bottom line is that the legislation and regulation that was inevitable is starting.  For a more detailed look at the legislation, the Natural Resources Defense Council is a good resource.

While I am not optimistic that THIS SPECIFIC legislation will be passed on Monday – I do think that this is, as former British prime minister Tony Blair stated in hi Op-Ed in the Washington Post on Thursday,  “ … a hugely important signal of intent …”  (The Op-Ed is an interesting read, if you have the time.)

Whether or not this is the bill that passes, I think that the handwriting is on the wall.  On Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Representative Markey (D-MA) floated the Investing in Climate Action Policy Act, which is a “Cap and Invest” system designed to cut emissions 85% by the year 2050, among other things.

If we do not, as an industry, start stepping up to the plate and managing our own environmental destiny, I worry about our long term economic viability, if not actual existence.  Waiting for someone to tell us what to do is, at least in my opinion, fairly foolish, especially since we have the wherewithal to take a leadership position that will allow every limousine and ground transportation company to build business and profitability.  

Delayed Flights: Are the Airlines The Only Ones Losing?

What Idling at the Airport Might be Costing The Limousine Industry

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Environmental Leader reported this week that delayed flights in 2007 consumed approximately 740 million additional gallons of jet fuel, totaling $1.6 billion in extra fuel bills and emitted 7.07 million metric tons of CO₂ according to a report from the U.S. Joint Economic Committee.

The same report notes that passengers were delayed by 320 million hours last year.  Now, my question is:

How much time did limousine and ground transportation company vehicles spend idling while waiting for their delayed passengers? 

Idling Costs Money.  One hour of automobile idling results in approximately 1/5 of a gallon in wasted fuel – and more than three-tenths of a gallon if you drive the industry-standard Town Car with an eight-cylinder engine. With gas prices at $4.22 per gallon (at least in Connecticut!), idling can start add up.  If you figure that there are 262 working days per year, a single Town car will idle for 262 hours and waste 78.6 gallons of gas.  At $4.22 a gallon, that is more than $330.00 a year that you really didn’t have to spend.

That same hour of wasted fuel also releases nearly 4 pounds of CO₂ into the air. Eliminating, or at least reducing, idling is not only an economic issue, but an environmental one, as well.

In the grand scheme of things, $330.00 per year may not sound like a lot of money, but we were only talking about one car.  In July of 2007, Limousine Digest Magazine reported that there were 15,822 operators in the United States.  If each only operated one car, idling one hour per day, that would be about 1,248,325 gallons of gas or $5,267,932 in unnecessary fuel expenses each year. AND, from an environmental perspective, not to mention the 2,265 metric tons of CO₂ emitted for no good reason.

Of course, Limousine Digest also reported in that same issue that the the average fleet in the U.S. is 11 cars.  You do the math; it makes my head hurt. No matter how many cars there are in the limousine and ground transportation industry,  there’s no question about it – idling gets you nowhere. Instead, it wastes fuel and money and damages the environment.

 

Alternative Fueling Stations for Your Limousine Company

The list of U.S. locations continues to grow

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As more and more alternative fuel vehicles come into the marketplace (Flex-Fuel, Biodiesel and Compressed Natural Gas, for example), the number of stations offering the new fuels and blends continues to expand.

The Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC, formerly known as the Alternative Fuels Data Center) provides a wide range of information and resources to enable the use of alternative fuels including a Listing of Alternative Fuel Station Counts by state and fuel type, including CNG-Compressed Natural Gas, E85-85% Ethanol, LPG-Propane, ELEC-Electric, BD-Biodiesel, HY-Hydrogen and LNG-Liquefied Natural Gas.

The stations are independently verified by the AFDC on a routine basis. The AFDC also provides station locator and route mapping features as well.

 

 

New Ways For Limousine Companies to Reduce their Carbon Footprint.

Green Marketing and Web Hosting

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Making your limousine or ground transportation company “greener” means a lot more than just using alternative fuels and hybrids – although both are certainly serious improvements on fuel consumption and emissions generated when compared to their conventional counterparts. 

More and more corporate purchasers of limousine and ground transportation services across the country are looking to their suppliers to help them reduce their carbon emissions.  “Greening the supply chain” is a hot topic these days, and it is just as important for limousine companies as it is to their corporate clients. 

Looking beyond your fleet and finding not-so-obvious ways of improving your carbon footprint can go a long way in meeting your emission reduction goals.

Some changes are easier to make than others.  For example, when compared to traditional advertising and direct mail marketing, there isn't anything much “greener” than web marketing — no printed collateral, no big billboards, and considerably less fuel burned than what it takes to coordinate a typical advertising or marketing program.

Even the datacenter that hosts your website can help you be greener, too.  Fifty-one percent of companies have a green data center strategy, according to a recent Digital Realty Trust survey of senior decision makers at leading North American corporations who are directly responsible for data center strategy.

And, green website hosting isn't just for corporations that manage their own datacenters.  Take a look at a just published list of 22 green hosting companies.  The less-green aspect of the web is that it takes a lot of electricity to power all of the computers required to keep things up and running, so web companies are starting to adopt renewable energy sources.

Of course, LEAP-Marketing is 100% carbon neutral, and we offset all of the LEAP-Marketing company websites (leap-marketing.com, leapcars.org) as well as our clients’ sites and our email survey/email newsletter programs.

Limousine and Ground Transportation - New Opportunities in Green

Green Travel Continues to Build Momentum

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ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER,  An Executive daily green briefing contains an article that U.S. business travelers are increasingly making daily choices to reduce their environmental impact, and they have specific expectations about the green practices hotels should be adopting today, according to a recent survey.

The article goes on to say that roughly a third of the travelers that were surveyed by Deloitte are “keenly concerned about green travel.”

A great opportunity for green ground transportation companies: take a leadership position with the “green” hotels in your market, providing sustainable ground transportation options for them to integrate into their offerings.  As the trend toward “green” continues to build momentum, more and more travel partners will be looking for companies to support their efforts and become part of their green supply chain.