{"id":8497,"date":"2016-11-03T15:49:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/combating-climate-change-at-pitt-ohio-express\/"},"modified":"2016-11-03T15:49:19","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:49:19","slug":"combating-climate-change-at-pitt-ohio-express","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/combating-climate-change-at-pitt-ohio-express\/","title":{"rendered":"Combating Climate Change at PITT OHIO Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

Industry Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

Climate change has become a hot-button issue across industries, but perhaps none has been portrayed as negatively as the transportation industry. This is partly due to the explosive growth anticipated in the sector, where experts estimate growth at 100% in the Southern USA and 79% in the Northeast between 2000 and 2020[1]<\/a>. In addition to said growth, transportation of people and goods is estimated to be responsible for 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the USA[2]<\/a>\u00a0(Figure 1). These two factors combine to result in an industry facing increased social and regulatory pressures to significantly alter their operating models.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>
Figure 1: Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the USA. US Environmental Protection Agency, \u201cU.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report: 1990-2014\u201d, https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ghgemissions\/us-greenhouse-gas-inventory-report-1990-2014, Accessed November 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impact on PITT OHIO Express<\/strong><\/p>\n

PITT OHIO Express, a privately held transportation carrier, provides supply chain solutions throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest United States. With annual revenues estimated at $550,300,000 for 2015 and growing at an average of 15.8% per year over the last four years[3]<\/a>, PITT OHIO is in a prime position to capitalize on previous success. Though, a question remains: Will PITT OHIO continue to grow while providing enough value in sustainability to win customers in a trucking industry that generates significantly more emissions than alternate forms of freight transportation[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Company Response<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>At a corporate level, PITT OHIO has recognized the need to be an industry leader in adopting innovative sustainability technology. To that effect, they\u2019ve not only become an EPA SmartWay Partner[5]<\/a>,[6]<\/a>, but also a 2016 SmartWay Excellence Award Winner[7]<\/a>. To achieve these results, PITT OHIO has pulled a variety of levers, including fleet composition changes and reducing effective carbon output[8]<\/a>.<\/p>\n