Become a SmartWay Partner

What is SmartWay?

The SmartWay™ Partnership is a program sponsored and administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA describes SmartWay as "a partnership among government, business and consumers to protect our environment, reduce fuel consumption, and improve our air quality for future generations."

There are three partnership categories: Shippers, Carriers & Logistics Providers

Getting SmartWay Certified

In order to apply for SmartWay certification, a shipper, carrier or logistics company must sign the EPA's Partnership agreement. Next, the company must calculate its total emission output as it relates to freight activities (i.e. establish a model). These two steps usually result in SmartWay certification.

Finally, the applicant company must develop an Action Plan outlining a strategy to further reduce emissions by a certain percentage each year. The EPA uses the Action Plan to determine whether a SmartWay partner maintains certification.

Don't Know Where to Start?

We at M33 Integrated Solutions are SmartWay-certified. As a global logistics company, we received the EPA's highest overall rating of 1.25. We've helped manufacturers and distributors of all sizes learn how to measure and manage their transportation-related emissions and develop a workable plan to increase efficiencies. The strategy we co-develop with our clients often results in better visibility and cost reductions across their distribution model. So not only are they able to tout their green credentials to an increasingly eco-conscious customer base, but they become leaner in the process.

If you would like to discuss "next steps" in exploring SmartWay certification for your company, please contact us:

M33 Integrated Solutions
info@m33integrated.com
(877) 369-0343

Walmart Sends Out a Green Shockwave

Over the past 20 years, we've seen a largely bottom-up approach to environmental issues. All of that changed on July 16th, 2009, when Walmart announced a new strategy aimed at "greening" its supply chain. Walmart will provide each of its 100,000 global suppliers with a survey of 15 questions to evaluate their own company's sustainability:

Energy and Climate: Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

1. Have you measured your corporate greenhouse gas emissions?


2. Have you opted to report your greenhouse gas emissions to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?


3. What is your total annual greenhouse gas emissions reported in the most recent year measured?


4. Have you set publicly available greenhouse gas reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?

Material Efficiency: Reducing Waste and Enhancing Quality

1. If measured, please report the total amount of solid waste generated from the facilities that produce your product(s) for Walmart for the most recent year measured.


2. Have you set publicly available solid waste reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?


3. If measured, please report total water use from facilities that produce your product(s) for Walmart for the most recent year measured.


4. Have you set publicly available water use reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?

Natural Resources: Producing High Quality, Responsibly Sourced Raw Materials

1. Have you established publicly available sustainability purchasing guidelines for your direct suppliers that address issues such as environmental compliance, employment practices and product/ingredient safety?


2. Have you obtained 3rd party certifications for any of the products that you sell to Walmart?

People and Community: Ensuring Responsible and Ethical Production

1. Do you know the location of 100 percent of the facilities that produce your product(s)?


2. Before beginning a business relationship with a manufacturing facility, do you evaluate the quality of, and capacity for, production?


3. Do you have a process for managing social compliance at the manufacturing level?


4. Do you work with your supply base to resolve issues found during social compliance evaluations and also document specific corrections and improvements?


5. Do you invest in community development activities in the markets you source from and/or operate within?

It's not hard to see that companies in the position to tout their green credentials will have the competitive advantage.

As everyone jockeys to make themselves appear more eco-conscious, they will start asking their own suppliers for information they can include in their reports. So whether you sell directly to Walmart, or your customer's customer sells to Walmart, you'll soon be required to provide your own sustainability scorecard.

To learn how your company can position itself as a sustainable shipper without the large investments usually associated with green initiatives, please contact us.

For more information about Walmart's Sustainable Product Index, click here.

M33 Receives the Highest Rating by the EPA SmartWay Partner Program

In the quest for a cleaner environment, there are many culprits that hold back the pace of change. However, few industries are more publicly derided than those associated with freight transportation.

It's an unavoidable fact that consumers demand products. Those products must be manufactured, stored, and delivered. If you look at the average manufacturer’s carbon footprint, you’ll see that 30% comes from product creation, 20% comes from product storage, and a full 50% comes from product transportation.

We at M33 believe that there is room for significant reductions in emissions associated with freight transportation, and that such changes can actually have a neutral or positive impact on a company’s bottom line when implemented properly.

As a leader in the 'Sustainable Shipping' movement, M33 Integrated Solutions has embraced several efficiency-enhancing systems such as paperless billing, lane optimization, inter-company collaboration, and voluntary government emission reduction programs. One of those programs is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay™ program.

The EPA describes SmartWay™ as "a partnership among government, business and consumers to protect our environment, reduce fuel consumption, and improve our air quality for future generations." M33's enrollment in the program shows that we and the companies that comprise our client network are committed to increasing energy efficiency and significantly reducing fuel consumption, greenhouse gases, and air pollution. After all, we at M33 not only met the EPA's SmartWay™ base qualifications, but we received the agency's top possible score of 1.25.

Whether companies in the transportation industry are proactive or reactive when it comes to sustainability, there’s no denying the trend is here to stay. M33 is proving that Sustainable Shipping can increase efficiencies and drive down operational expenses, all without the large up-front costs generally associated with ‘Green’ initiatives. And as long as there is room for improvement, M33 Integrated Solutions will continue leading the way.