LONDONDERRY, NH - Recipient of the 2009 SmartWay Excellence Award, New Hampshire-based Stonyfield Farm Inc. was one of 37 organizations nationwide honored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for successfully cutting carbon dioxide emissions and fuel use in freight operations.

Stonyfield, an organic yogurt maker, joined SmartWay in 2008 as a shipping partner, having established several programs to significantly reduce the company's transportation carbon footprint. Stonyfield educated all contracted truck carriers about fuel-saving SmartWay strategies, and provided incentives to join the program. Now Stonyfield ships 100-percent of its freight using more efficient SmartWay carriers.

"Stonyfield went the extra mile and saved fuel and money, while cutting air pollution," said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator for EPA New England. "Stonyfield's programs show that efforts to ship more efficiently can help our climate and our environment."

"This award recognizes the hard work of a team dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint, and continuing to find ways to save money and the planet," said Stonyfield Farm President and "CE-Yo" Gary Hirshberg. "As a yogurt on a mission, Stonyfield has continually worked toward minimizing our impact, by working smarter, working leaner, and working greener."

Stonyfield also reworked its distribution system to ship more efficiently. By consolidating loads, increasing order lead times, and rerouting, Stonyfield's New England fleet achieved a 15-percent reduction in 2008 in the number of miles driven empty. By reducing the number of pallets needed for each load, requiring longer trailers and eliminating less-than-full truckloads, Stonyfield reduced the number of truck loads of product shipped by 13 percent between 2007 and 2008. Through these and other efforts, Stonyfield reduced its total annual CO₂ emissions by more than 40 percent between 2006 and 2008 - equivalent to taking 1,700 cars off the road for a year. In doing so, Stonyfield also saved $2.5 million in fuel costs in 2007 and 2008 alone, according to the company.

Stonyfield delivers its product in New England using trucks leased through its logistics provider Ryder, which are now either SmartWay or RydeGreen-certified. EPA certifies SmartWay sleeper tractor-trailers equipped with technology to provide cab comfort without idling, improve aerodynamics, and reduce rolling resistance. Ryder-provided day cab tractors have automatic idle shutdown, more efficient trailer refrigeration and other fuel-saving features. Onboard computers on all trucks track driver behavior, and Stonyfield rewards drivers for reducing idling and improving driving style.

In addition, the company also earned a 2008 Clean Air Excellence Award from the EPA.