The Evans Network of Companies on Friday, Feb. 6, announced its voluntary inclusion in the Virginia Port Authority’s “Green Operators” pilot program aimed at truckers engaged in port drayage. Evans Network says it is one of the first to be a part of VPA’s GO program, which arranges low-cost financing to retrofit exhaust filters, providing vehicles with more emissions-efficient engines.
“Evans Network plans to retrofit its independent contractors’ trucks serving the Ports of Virginia with diesel particulate filters that have been shown to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent,” says Albert “Bert” Evans Jr., president and chief executive officer of Schuylkill Haven, Pa.-based Evans Network. Century Express and Evans Delivery Company are the local affiliates of Evans Network serving the Ports of Virginia.
The GO program is the first voluntary retrofit program at a U.S. port. Evans Network says it will share expenses for retrofitting its fleet with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Clean Diesel Program.
“We’re excited that Evans Network was one of the first to take advantage of our GO program,” says Heather Mantz, VPA’s environmental director. “Evans Network is a leader in the transportation industry, and we hope others will be follow their example and become ‘Green Operators’.”
Evans Network says that in addition to the GO program, it also has retrofitted a portion of its fleet with Espar cab heaters to minimize engine idling, increased the use of IdleAire Technologies at truckstops, and installed eco-flaps to reduce drag as part of its ongoing green initiatives. “We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint nationwide, and we are proud to join VPA in its innovative environmental project,” Evans says.
