One of Musket Transport’s core values is doing our part to protect the environment. This value was integral in motivating our team to complete Climate Smart training, a program designed to help strengthen and improve our energy and fuel conservation initiatives. Musket was successful in earning Climate Smart certification and is dedicated to implementing the tools and strategies we learned in the training program.
Moving Forward: Musket’s Plan to Reduce GHG Emissions
Reduction Plan Highlights
- 2018 Investment in new low emission Volvo VNL 740 trucks.
- New fuel contract that results in less idling at our Cawthra and Royal Windsor terminals.
- New Waste Management contract for waste removal and recycling programs at Cawthra and soon to be extended to Royal Windsor and Southdown terminals.
- Complimentary LED retrofit program for paving projects at Cawthra and Royal Windsor yards.
- Ongoing promotion of the SmartDriver Highway Trucking Course at CHET.
- CHET to partner up with Musket’s Driver Management Team and Safety & Compliance Department for SmartWay fuel efficiency training for experienced drivers.
Ontario’s Request to Contribute to its New Climate Change Plan
The province of Ontario is committed to doing its part to protect clean air and water, encourage conservation and address urban litter and waste. Ontario will release a plan that identifies areas it can focus on to better tackle and be more resilient to climate change, including:
- Creating an understanding of the effects that climate change is having on Ontario households, businesses, communities, and public infrastructure to better prepare and strengthen our resiliency.
- Ensuring polluters are held accountable and creating dedicated measures that will efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Improving Ontario’s business climate by unlocking the power of the private sector to finance and drive innovative climate solutions. This will include an emissions-reduction fund to invest in technology-based and other solutions to reduce emissions in Ontario.
- Finding a balanced solution that puts people first, makes life more affordable for families, and takes Ontario’s role in fighting climate change seriously.
- The province is establishing this plan to help ensure its investments in climate action effectively balance greenhouse gas reductions while supporting economic prosperity and Ontario families.
The province requested feedback on its areas of focus and welcomed suggestions on the most effective actions to achieve its climate goals.
Musket’s Feedback and Recommendations
The Musket Transport Ltd. and CHET strongly supports Ontario’s intention to focus on improving [its] business climate by unlocking the power of the private sector to finance and drive innovative climate solutions.
We further propose that the province of Ontario focus on the main polluter industries when devising competitive incentives to reduce carbon emissions. The transportation industry accounts for 14 percent of total world Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Because Mississauga is one of Canada’s largest trucking hubs, there is a much higher GHG emission contribution within Ontario. It is in the province’s best interest to facilitate targeted rebate programs for businesses that contribute the most to this emission record and have a single digit profit margin.
It is important to consider that as a commercial transportation company, we face additional obstacles when it comes to prioritizing environmentally based investments due to the high level of re-investment into the company required on an annual basis. The price of land, equipment, fuel and insurance are all very high and are essential priorities in our industry. Because we are classified as a value-asset based company, we are precluded from bank loans when it comes to making such investments in our facilities.
This is a significant disadvantage because many of the clean technologies that have been introduced to the market as readily are primarily facility-based, such as LED lighting retrofit. The costs of transitioning two truck yards and one container terminal (which is the second largest in Ontario) to LED lighting is very expensive. We have a team dedicated to researching and developing green opportunities that will complement our overall business plan, but we require an open dialogue with our political representatives to ensure that the real barriers faced in our industry are addressed.
One testament to our commitment to actively support environmental conservation is that we recently earned Climate Smart business certification and are already working with Climate Smart businesses such as Van Houtte Coffee Services.
We would propose that the government of Ontario visit other provinces and states around the world that are successfully meeting their climate strategy goals. However, in our professional opinion, the government must focus its initial efforts and funding opportunities on businesses that are the largest polluters. Doing so will yield the highest results and have a much greater impact on Ontario than rebates and incentives allocated to individuals.
Mississauga is Working Towards Its Own Climate Change Plan
In the last five years, Mississauga has experienced more intense heat waves, rain, flooding and winter storms – ramifications of climate change. It is predicted that these trends will continue in the future. Like the province of Ontario, the city of Mississauga is taking action to address the impacts of changing global climate by working on its own Climate Change Action Plan. The city intends to engage residents, businesses and local partners to create responsible, forward-looking solutions and requested the feedback and suggestions of local citizens and businesses.
Musket’s Feedback and Recommendations
The Musket Transport Ltd. and Commercial Heavy Equipment Ltd. (CHET) strongly supports the City of Mississauga’s development of a Climate Change Project and appreciates its interest in the public’s engagement. Because Mississauga is a large trucking hub in Canada, we strongly believe that a climate change strategy is required.
There are many obstacles within the transportation industry that prevent it from taking a leadership position in the adoption of clean technologies. The industry is highly competitive and has a single digit profit margin with costly re-investment requirements on an annual basis.
Long haul carriers are posed with even more barriers when it comes to investing in alternative fuels and autonomous technologies. The infrastructure and regulatory differences between provinces and states creates a serious bureaucratic impediment when it comes to technological integration. Although the influence of IoT and AI in trucking is pervasive, it is difficult to create the infrastructure required to support long haul transport. Trucking companies are also primarily dependent on their suppliers own technological investments.
At Musket Transport Ltd. and CHET, we personally made a recent investment in 150 new low-emission Volvo trucks. While this positively impact our fleet’s GHG emissions, we feel there are many other opportunities that we are unfortunately unable to take advantage of at this point. For instance, as a value-asset based company, we are unable to acquire bank loans for our facilities. Due to the high cost of land, fuel, equipment and insurance, we are not able to prioritize facility investments out of pocket. This hinders our ability to take advantage of clean tech commodities available for facilities, such as LED lighting and smart buildings.
We believe there are additional options to combat climate change such as providing competitive rebates for green roofs and physical expansions that minimize our impact on the environment. If there were incentives available for businesses such as ours, we would not only be able to research and develop our own climate strategy but also expand and create more jobs in the City of Mississauga.
The Musket Transport Ltd and CHET teams look forward to our continued work with Climate Smart, the Mississauga Board of Trade, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the City of Mississauga. We are proud to operate our two truck yards and one container terminal out of the City of Mississauga and look forward to seeing what steps the city will take to become a climate change leader in Canada.
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