AmeriPride Sacramento Branch Gets Enviro Award

AmeriPride Services Inc., Minnetonka, MN, recently announced that it was named the Sacramento Sustainable Business of the Year. The company was recognized for transportation and air quality by the Business and Environmental Resource Center (BERC), as well as Sacramento Area Sustainable Business, the city of Sacramento, the county of Sacramento, the California State Senate and the U.S. Congress, according to a news release.

“As one of the biggest players in our industry, AmeriPride is committed to the environment and the communities where we live and work,” said Doug Henderson, GM of the Sacramento branch. “We are setting the standard for clean operations – both in our facilities and on the road – and I’m proud that all our hard work is being recognized.”

AmeriPride originally was nominated by the county sewer inspector and the company also was certified for water conservation, pollution prevention, energy conservation, solid waste reduction and green building. AmeriPride went through a long certification process that required on-site visits and verification to ensure that it met established criteria for certification. The company was recognized in September and is the first company to receive all six certifications.

“This third-party substantiation demonstrates that we are doing the right things for the environment and our community,” said Henderson. “We continue to make improvements in our processing and delivery operations and invest resources to test and help advance new environmentally friendly technologies.”

Some of the recent environmental changes the Sacramento branch has made include:

• Production equipment upgrades
• Environmentally friendly (NPE-free) detergents
• Low nitrous oxide equipment (boilers, hot water heaters, dryers)
• Newer, more efficient trucks and sedans
• Telematics technology in every delivery vehicle to optimize fuel usage
• Automatic shut-off technology to reduce unnecessary idling
• Trailer skirts on semi-trucks for better gas mileage
• Technology to help plan more efficient routes
   

Next year, the Sacramento branch will incorporate propane vehicles into its fleet. The company has also tested propane, CNG, hybrid and electric vehicles in some of its other plants and has already reduced CO2 emissions by 32 metric tons through 2014.

The effort in Sacramento is a part of a larger, companywide sustainability program. Other initiatives the company is implementing across the U.S. and Canada include heat-reclamation systems, solar power, mat and paper recycling, water conservation and more. More details on AmeriPride’s efforts can be found in the company’s first-ever Corporate Responsibility Report, which outlines many key initiatives it is sponsoring.