SmartWay Leader: North Central Texas Council of Governments


"^vSmartWay

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency +

2024 SmartWay Leader:

North Central Texa sCouncilofGovemme^

SMARTWAY PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP AREA OF EMPHASIS

Sustainability Education and Socialization — ALL internaL and
externaL actions to educate empLoyees, customers, suppLiers,
coLLeagues, members, and investors about your freight
sustainabiLity efforts and how SmartWay faciLitates those efforts.
Incorporating sustainabiLity vaLues as part of a routine way of
doing business.

"Trucker Path understands the importance of sharing
information and knowledge with our industry. We
have a user base of 1 million truckers and the
material received from NCTCOG adds tremendous
value to a large sector of the industry."

- Chris OLiver, Chief Marketing Officer, Trucker Path

"NCTCOG has been a great partner of Peterbilt in
advancing the presence of zero emissions vehicles in
North Texas. NCTCOG has shown leadership and has
taken great initiative in supporting the trucking
industry in aiding customer conversions to reduced
and zero emissions heavy-duty trucks. NCTCOG does
an excellent job of communicating and raising
awareness of grant opportunities for zero emission
vehicle purchases. Peterbilt has had multiple
customers convert to Battery Electric Vehicles
thanks to the awareness and support provided by

NCTCOG."

- KyLe Crawford, PeterbiLt NationaL EV SaLes and Grants Manager, PACCAR
SAVING MONEY AND REDUCING TRUCK EMISSIONS (SMARTE)

The North CentraL Texas CounciL of Governments (NCTCOG)joined the SmartWay Transport Program as an
Affiliate in October 2006. In this role, NCTCOG promotes SmartWay initiatives within the ten county North
Central Texas ozone nonattainment region by providing educational outreach to potential partners and
affected industries. NCTCOG implements the "Saving Money and Reducing Truck Emissions Program"

ABOUT ORGANIZATION

North Central Texas
Council of Governments

The North Central Texas Council
of Governments (NCTCOG) is a
voluntary association of local
governments established in 1966
to help local governments in the
16-county region plan for
common needs, cooperate for
mutual benefit and coordinate for
sound regional development.
NCTCOG works to help local
governments recognize regional
opportunities, eliminate
unnecessary duplication and
makejoint decisions.

For more information, visit our
website:

www.nctcog.org.

EPA-420-F-24-036 | December 2024 I SmartWay Transport Partnership | epa.gov/smartway

1

-------
"^vSmartWay

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency +

(SMARTE) program to facilitate relationships with truck drivers, fleet managers and technology vendors to
educate and engage the freight industry with strategies and opportunities to: reduce diesel fuel consumption
and improve air quality; use EPA SmartWay Verified Technologies; understand applicable local air quality
initiatives; and, actively participate in available funding opportunities. NCTCOG maintains the SMARTE
webpage, which is located atwww.nctcog.org/smarte.

In the past two years, NCTCOG implemented a series of monthly webinars and email-based newsletters as
outreach and educational efforts to multiple trucking industry stakeholders in the North Central Texas region.
The webinars covered relevant topics such as Environmental Justice and Trucking, Fuel Considerations and
Alternatives, Sustainable Solutions for Small Fleets, and Truck Parking. The recorded webinars are available
on NCTCOG's YouTube webinar series channel. As result, staff observed a significant uptick correlated with
the combined outreach campaign. Specifically, over a five-year period, more than 1,407 visits occurred on
the SMARTE webpage, with a 192% increase in visits from the previous observation period (2021 to 2023). The
SMARTE email-based newsletter also saw increased interest with 534 freight stakeholders now subscribed.

In 2024, NCTCOG staff introduced in-person outreach to SmartWay Verified Technology providers, such as
heavy-duty truck and trailer dealerships, to list them on the SMARTE Vendor Directory. Through this
outreach, NCTCOG representatives have active dialogue with sales managers and associates at local heavy-
duty truck dealerships. These site visits have assisted staff to gain further insights into the state of the
trucking industry, better understand the needs of today's trucking community, and to observe a substantial
amount of SmartWay Verified Technology sales occurring among local truck sales locations. To date,
NCTCOG staff have visited 18 truck and trailer sales stores located within the Freight-Oriented Development
areas (i.e., areas where manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and freight-forwarding operations are
consolidated with ready access to a multi-modal transportation networks) to ensure focused geographic
outreach.

Going forward, with updates to the SMARTE webpage and continued in-person visits, staff anticipate a
greater volume of website interactions by visitors of various audience types.

OUTCOME/ RESULT/ IMPACT

% Coordinated outreach, including online, special event, and in-person visits improved overall participation
and provided valuable opportunities to receive feedback that SMARTE could use to refine its approach.

% SmartWay-verified technologies have substantial uptake with their use often dependent upon the
intended duty of the tractor or trailer.

EPA-420-F-24-036 | December 2024 I SmartWay Transport Partnership | epa.gov/smartway

-------
"^vSmartWay

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency»

"LEADING THE WAY": TRANSFERABLE LESSON LEARNED

To grow the influence of digital content (e.g., newsletters and virtual
webinars), it is key to tailor the content and delivery to a wide variety
of audiences that play a role in the supply chain. This can take the
form of introducing technology relevant to fleet operations or
convening forums that address challenges they face. Keeping
content up to date, particularly with regard to funding and regulatory
information, is critical to building and keeping a strong connection
with the stakeholders.

Effectively publicizing and using touchpoints that reach the intended
audiences is also critical to successful outreach. For the SMARTE
program, this has meant a combination of virtual and in-person
approaches to align with the hybrid nature (i.e., telework and on-site
work) of today's workplace. Direct, in-person engagement can
provide valuable opportunities for feedback that can influence the
digital or virtual communication.

CONCLUSION

Advancing sustainable freight movement requires commitment from organizations at local, state, regional,
national, and even international levels. Engaging stakeholders through a combination of approaches can
accelerate the pace of improving freight efficiency.

SmartWay Profiles in Leadership

Profiles in Leadership is SmartWay's newest recognition initiative. Beginning this year, EPA will
recognize freight sustainability leadership actions of SmartWay Affiliates and eligible SmartWay
Partners (Logistics companies, Air carriers, Barge carriers and Rail carriers). EPA developed this
recognition concept after hearing that Affiliates and Partners would like to see greater opportunities
for recognition of sector leadership. EPA SmartWay created this new type of recognition to provide
additional opportunity for advancing freight transportation sustainability.

SmartWay defines leadership in this context as the ability to drive change, influence industry, lead
freight efficiency performance, and sustain freight-related environmental excellence. Profiles in
Leadership is an official SmartWay program acknowledgement of leadership demonstrated by
investments that are strategic, financial, and innovative, which will yield future environmental and
efficiency benefits.

| Call-Out Benefit

Engaging
stakeholders in a
modern workplace
requires a
combination of
virtual, special event,
and in-person efforts
to advance
sustainability in
goods movement.

EPA-420-F-24-036 | December 2024 | SmartWay Transport Partnership | epa.gov/smartway

-------