This past Thursday, telecom giant AT&T re-committed to its stated goal of putting 15,000 CNG-powered vehicles into operation by 2018, reaching the milestone of 5000 commercial CNG vehicles in service a few weeks ago and putting 274 CNG trucks and vans into service in Connecticut alone (the photo, above, is of Congressman John Larson and AT&T Connecticut’s president, Rodney Smith).
This is all part of AT&T’s bid to improve both its overall fleet costs and reduce the company’s carbon emissions. According to AT&T, their planned alternative-fuel vehicle initiative would save 49 million gallons of gasoline over the 10-year deployment period and reduce carbon emissions by over 200,000 metric tons, which AT&T claims is the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing over 38,000 conventionally-fueled passenger vehicles from the road for one year.
You can read AT&T official press release about hitting the 5000 vehicle mark in whole, below.
Enjoy!
AT&T Marches Toward 15,000 Cleaner-Fuel Fleet Vehicles with Milestone 5,000th Alternative-Fuel Deployment
Five thousand — and counting. That’s the newly-announced tally of alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) placed on U.S. roads by AT&T since the company embarked on a 10- year commitment of up to $565 million to deploy approximately 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles through 2018, including one of the largest U.S. corporate commitments to compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to date. AT&T deployed the 5,000th vehicle, a CNG van, in Palmdale, California. AT&T currently operates more than 70,300 vehicles in its corporate fleet.
“In a short period of time, with the support of community leaders all over the country, we’ve invested in the deployment of thousands of advanced technology vehicles that promote cleaner air, use less fuel and help AT&T lower its operating costs,” said Jerome Webber, vice president, AT&T Global Fleet Operations. “While some may see just another car or truck on the road, we think these vehicles represent the shared values of the communities where we live, work and play.”
In 2010, AT&T and other large U.S. fleet operators joined in the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities’ National Clean Fleets Partnership as part of a national challenge launched by President Obama to cut America’s petroleum imports by one-third by 2025. Through 2013, AT&T anticipates it will have purchased up to 8,000 CNG vehicles at an estimated cost of $350 million. Additionally, over the life of the commitment, AT&T expects to invest $215 million to replace approximately 7,100 fleet passenger cars with alternative-fuel models.
According to a 2009 Center for Automotive Research report, AT&T’s planned alternative-fuel vehicle initiative would:
- Save 49 million gallons of gasoline over the 10-year deployment period
- Reduce carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons – the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 38,600 passenger vehicles from the road for one year
More Sustainable Service Garages
Beyond the AFV deployments, AT&T is turning to its service garages to help minimize its environmental footprint and cut operating costs within its overall fleet. These programs include:
- Redirecting an estimated 60,000 old tires annually through a new recycling program that turns old rubber into fuel and consumer products
- Recycling all primary garage products, including 180,000 pounds of oil filters; 200,000 gallons of oil; and 23,000 gallons of antifreeze annually
- Eliminating the purchase of 9,000 pounds of lead annually that were being used to balance new fleet vehicle tires at high speeds
Source: Gas2.0
