Thanks to its commitment to protecting the environment, Averitt Express was chosen as a “Green 75 Supply Chain Partner” by Inbound Logistics magazine. It’s the third straight year Averitt has been selected for the honor.

Inbound Logistics bases its Green Supply Chain Partners list on a company’s involvement in three areas: participation in public-private partnerships; corporate sustainability initiatives; and collaborative customer-driven projects.

The magazine’s editors solicited more than 200 transportation and logistics companies to complete a questionnaire specifying their investments in sustainability — ranging from fuel-efficient equipment to corporate-sponsored recycling programs, and everything in between.

“In our industry, it’s vital that we maintain our focus on environmental stewardship and sustainability,” said Gary Sasser, Averitt’s president and CEO. “We’re extremely honored to have been recognized by Inbound Logistics three years in a row for our ‘green’ efforts. The entire Averitt team takes great pride in continually finding new ways to be environmentally friendly.”

During the past several years, Averitt has developed programs to educate and reward associates for improving their fuel efficiency. Averitt has awarded $90,000 in fuel cards, a Smart Fortwo city car, and a Ford F-150 4×4 truck.

A charter member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program, Averitt has taken numerous steps to reduce its environmental impact, company officials said.

Averitt’s current SmartWay score is 1.25, which represents outstanding environmental performance, according to the EPA. Partners with this score are already utilizing most of the commercially available fuel saving strategies and are actively evaluating the latest emerging technologies.