On February 28, the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition held a stakeholder meeting titled "Clean Fleet Solutions," with several speakers discussing the pursuit of fleet efficiency and alternative fuels.

Keynote speaker Larry Beaulieu, UPS East Region Automotive Manager, presented a fascinating overview of national and international UPS fleets. Highlights of the presentation included everything from the company's ranking in the top 20 nationally for airline fleet size to their use of bicycle transportation in remote tropical locations. Beaulieu also described the many efforts of the company in improving their efficiency and fuel consumption, from alternative fuel use, anti-idling efforts, safety measures, and use of telematics, which provide extensive data. These and other efforts by the company have led to annual petroleum fuel consumption reduction of 3 million gallons and 30 million miles reduced from vehicle miles traveled. The presentation made it very clear that UPS is constantly evaluating, at the national and local level, how they can improve efficiency. UPS is a member of the Clean Cities National Clean Fleet Partners.

Also presenting at the event was James Mullowney of Vermont Gas Systems. He profiled the Vermont Gas vehicle fleet. Mullowney shared information on their successful implementation of natural gas vehicles (NGV) for service vans and passenger cars.

Peter Bourne of Bourne's Energy spoke about his company's new biodiesel initiative, detailing the implementation of a new biodiesel blending facility in Morrisville, VT. With the new facility, customers now have access to biodiesel blends ranging from B5 to B-99 (5 to 99 percent biodiesel, blended with petro-diesel) for both home heating and on-road use.

VTCCC Coordinator Tom McGrath gave an update detailing the coalitions inclusion in the Northeast Clean Cities Coalitions' Project: "Removing Barriers, Implementing Policies, and Advancing Alternative Fuel Markets in New England." The project includes barrier reduction initiatives, market development and outreach initiatives, drafting model policy language, working with MPO's, and safety and training workshops.

For more information, please contact VTCCC coordinator Tom McGrath.

Vermont Clean Cities Coalition News: Clean Fleets Certification, Re-designation, & Clean Cities Coordinator Council

Photo (from left): Tom McGrath, Vermont Clean Cities Coordinator; Allie Evarts, Clean Cities Intern; and Jim Barr, Director of Transportation and Parking Services at UVM stand in front of a UVM Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus.

Clean Fleets Program

The Vermont Clean Cities Coalition (VTCCC) will be leading the creation a New England Clean Fleets program and certification, which will rate fleets as a way to recognize the efforts of organizations who actively strive to reduce petroleum fuel consumption. The certification is not aimed just at local fleets, but also larger operations that run through the New England region. This project is part of a larger grant award from the US Department of Energy to the New England Regional Clean Cities Coalition, a group including coalitions from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The grant award is for "Removing Barriers, Implementing Policies and Advancing Alternative Fuel Markets in New England." This covers several projects beyond the clean fleets program, including a fleet manager's survey, co-led by VTCCC, and projects led by others, such as CNG workshops, biodiesel workshops, safety and training initiatives, and research on barriers to alternative fuels. View the press release here

Re-designation

VTCCC has officially been re-designated for another three years by the US Department of Energy. The DOE cited outreach efforts and awareness building around alternative fuels in their announcement, as well as the coalition's programs, such as the Campus Transportation Toolkit and Eco-Driving.

Clean Cities Coordinator Council

VTCCC Coordinator Tom McGrath was elected as Northeast Representative to the national Clean Cities Council by his peers. This will involve participation in various council activities, such as progress reports, goal setting, and communication with coalitions around the region. McGrath's specific assignment on the council will be managing the Clean Cities Buddy System, which partners new coordinators with experienced peers for assistance and support in their new role.

The Vermont Clean Cities Coalition (VTCCC) supports, promotes and helps coordinate Vermont-related efforts related to fuel efficient and alternative fueled vehicles, transportation alternatives to the automobile, anti-idling campaigns, programs that reduce vehicle miles travelled, and funding opportunities and programs that address the Clean Cities mission.