Carrier Corp., a Farmington, Conn.-based company providing high technology heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration, is reducing fuel and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through alterations and upgrades to its current fleet of 3,000 vehicles. Since 2006, Carrier has reduced emissions by  more than 30 percent through a variety of techniques, such as right-sizing vehicles and using GPS data to eliminate unnecessary weight during transport.

"Greening our fleet is one way Carrier has reduced its GHG footprint by 33 percent since 2006. We've been greening our company for two decades. That's sustainability inside and out," stated John Mandyck, vice president of Carrier Sustainability & Environmental Strategies.

Revamping Efforts

Prior to this greening effort, Carrier Corp. was committed to a one-size-fits-all policy that did not take into account the amount of equipment placed in a vehicle or the size of the vehicle used for delivery. The company worked with its fleet management partner, PHH Arval, to deploy GHG reduction strategies.

Now the company is making an effort to remove trucks from its fleet and save money and the environment through use of hybrids and smaller-displacement engine vehicles.

Using GPS technology in its service fleet, the company can now record data for fuel economy performance across the country. This led to a 7-percent increase in average miles per gallon, and the system also helps improve customer service by providing service technicians a better way to locate distressed vehicles during emergencies, according to the company.

"Greening our fleet is another example of Carrier's environmentally sound business practices," said Erv Lauterbach, president of Carrier Building Systems and Services. "We have generated more than $1 million in fuel savings since 2008, and our reduction in GHG emissions since 2006 is equivalent to removing more than 3,000 cars from the road. We are committed to sustainability across our products, services, and operations."

In 2009, Carrier's fleet manager, Denise Cross, was recognized by Automotive Fleet as an Environmental Leadership Award recipient for taking charge and leading the fleet team's greening efforts.