AT&T 'Heeds the Call' to Alternative-Fuel Fleet Vehicles

Five thousand—and counting. That’s the latest tally of alternative-fuel fleet vehicles (AFVs) placed on U.S. roads within the past 34 months by Dallas-based communications powerhouse AT&T.

In March 2009, AT&T (News - Alert) announced plans to invest up to $565 million as part of a long-term strategy to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs)—out of a total corporate fleet of 71,500— over the following ten years.

At that time, AT&T expected to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and around $215 million to replace 7,100 passenger cars with alternative-fuel models. The target for CNG vehicles is one of the highest set by a corporation to date—and, according to AT&T sources, the company expects to reach that number by year-end 2013.

“In a short period of time, with the support of community leaders all over the country, we’ve invested in the deployment of thousands of advanced-technology vehicles that promote cleaner air, use less fuel, and help AT&T lower its operating costs,” said Jerome Webber, vice president, AT&T Global Fleet Operations. “While some may see just another car or truck on the road, we think these vehicles represent the shared values of the communities where we live, work, and play.”

Based on the findings of a 2009 Center for Automotive Research report, AT&T’s alternative-fuel vehicle initiative is projected to:

• Save 49 million gallons of gasoline over the ten-year deployment period; and
• Reduce carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons —the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 38,600 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

What’s more, AT&T has been joined by other forward-looking companies: In April 2011, AT&T was among five large U.S. fleet operators to be named charter members of the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities’ National Clean Fleets Partnership, as part of a national challenge launched by President Obama to cut America’s petroleum imports by one-third by 2025. The other charter members were FedEx, PepsiCo, UPS and Verizon (News - Alert).

Collectively the five companies own and operate more than 275,000 vehicles. They have pledged to deploy a total of more than 20,000 AFVs, displacing in excess of 7 million gallons of fossil fuel. Among the companies that have since joined the partnership are Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, GE, Ryder, Staples (News - Alert), and Verizon.

Beyond the AFV deployments, AT&T is turning to its service garages to help minimize its environmental footprint and cut operating costs within its overall fleet. Environmentally friendly maintenance programs involve:

• Redirecting an estimated 50,000 old tires annually through a new recycling program that turns old rubber into fuel and consumer products;
• Recycling all primary garage products, including 250,000 pounds of oil filters, 200,000 gallons of oil;,and 16,000 gallons of antifreeze annually; and
• Eliminating the purchase of 18,000 pounds of lead annually that were being used to balance new fleet vehicle tires at high speeds

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration, click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.