Environmental Leader

Wal-Mart announced this week that they would be testing four new kinds of fuel-efficient commercial trucks.

The retail superstore already surpassed efficiency goals within its private fleet. They’ve seen a more than 25 percent drop in fuel use from 2005 to 2008. Their new goal is to double fleet fuel efficiency by 2015, and the new trucks they’re testing could help.

The test trucks include:

• Fifteen Reclaimed Grease Fuel trucks that will run on cooking grease from Wal-Mart stores and operate in the Buckeye, Arizona area
• Five Peterbilt Model 386 heavy-duty hybrids operating Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Washington/Baltimore, and Apple Valley, California
• Four Peterbilt Model 386 trucks that will run on liquid natural gas and operate on distribution center property in California
• One full-propulsion Arivin Meritor hybrid operating in Detroit

The Detroit hybrid will be the first vehicle of its kind, and Wal-Mart will also have a yard truck running on liquid natural gas. All of these trucks will be tested throughout 2009, and if initial test runs are successful, Wal-Mart could work further with suppliers to develop and produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Wal-Mart also recently announced plans to go green in their Americas stores and other international locations. They have already made a number of environmental upgrades to their facilities, including a solar power system at one Mexican branch.