New Study Shows Environmental Benefits of CHEP Pallet Pooling

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CHEP, a global leader in pallet and container pooling solutions, today released a report confirming the company’s ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship and confirming CHEP’s equipment pooling solution as an environmentally sustainable business decision. The research was prepared by Franklin Associates, a Division of ERG, a leading consulting company specializing in life cycle analysis and solid waste management. The study reveals that compared to the other common shipping platforms – one-way pallets, exchange pallets and corrugated slip-sheets – CHEP pooled pallets produce much less solid waste, require less total energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To illustrate, a business using CHEP pooled pallets instead of one-way pallets to ship 100,000 product unit loads per year could achieve the following savings:
• Reduce solid waste by over 1 million pounds (equivalent to 46 dump trucks filled with waste)
• Save 3.3 billion BTUs of energy (equivalent to 86 homes powered by electricity for a year)
• Avoid release of more than 250 tons of greenhouse gas emissions (equivalent to 49 passenger cars taken off the road).

In 2006 alone, CHEP USA issued more than 200 million pallets. The environmental savings created by CHEP USA and its customers amounted to approximately 1.2 billion pounds of solid waste, 596 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and 3.4 trillion BTUs of energy, which is enough electricity to power every household in Wilmington, Delaware for a year. These savings are based on a comparison of CHEP pallet issues to the same number of alternative platforms.

“As a part of our ongoing commitment to the environment, CHEP periodically assesses business processes to ensure that we are effectively managing resources and to identify areas for continuous improvement. The report from Franklin Associates emphasizes the contribution CHEP and our customers make to environmental sustainability,” said Dave Mezzanotte, COO, CHEP.

“From the managed tree plantations where we source our wood to our pallet repair facilities, CHEP is committed to reducing environmental waste and increasing customer savings through the proper use and stewardship of all natural resources.”

Franklin Associates performed a life-cycle inventory analysis of common shipping platforms, including the CHEP pooled pallet program. The study covered the extraction and processing of raw materials; platform fabrication; transportation of the platform to the customer (shipper); the use of the platform by the customer (including transportation cycles); and the recovery, reuse, recycling, or disposal of each platform after its useful life. The study quantified the solid waste, energy and environmental emissions resulting from the entire useful life of each platform.

Results of the Franklin Associates Study reveal the following:
• The One-Way system produces 20 times as much solid waste, requires 125% more total energy and produces 135% more greenhouse gas emissions than the CHEP block pallet for an equivalent number of pallet trips.
• The Exchange system produces eight times as much solid waste, requires 30% more total energy, and produces 30% more greenhouse gas emissions than the CHEP block pallet for an equivalent number of pallet trips.
• Corrugated Slip-sheets produce three times as much solid waste and require 20% more total energy compared to the CHEP block pallet for an equivalent number of pallet trips.

“CHEP is a leader in environmental sustainability. Based on the study we carried out, manufacturers and retailers reduce burdens on the environment when they choose to ship their products using pooled CHEP pallets,” says William Franklin of Franklin Associates.

Leading manufacturers and retailers routinely cite the company’s environmentally friendly approach as an important reason for their selection of the CHEP pallet pooling program for their shipping platform needs.

“We partner with CHEP primarily because of the commercial benefits of the program, but their pooling program allows us to decrease our impact on the environment, which is an important element of our own sustainability effort,” said Danny Payne, the VP of Operations at Southeast Food Distributors, North Miami, Fla., one of the largest exclusive distributor of frozen food products in the southeastern United States.

About Franklin Associates, A Division of ERG.
Franklin Associates, Ltd. was founded in late 1974 by William E. Franklin and Marjorie A. Franklin to provide consulting services in life cycle analysis and solid waste management and has provided these services to clients in the public and private sectors ever since. Franklin Associates’ professional staff is made up of engineers and physical scientists. In 2003, Franklin Associates became a division of ERG (Eastern Research Group). Franklin Associates takes pride in providing objective, well-documented results and advice to clients. The many clients who have used their services repeatedly over the years give testimony to their integrity.

About CHEP
CHEP is a global leader in pallet and container pooling services serving many of the world's largest companies. The company has more than 7,700 employees and operates in 44 countries. Combining superior technology and an asset base of more than 280 million pallets and containers, CHEP offers its customers exceptional value, a platform that enables reduction in customer product damage, and an environmentally sustainable logistical solution. Supply chains served include consumer goods, produce, beverage, and the automotive industry. With global partners that include Procter & Gamble, SYSCO, Kellogg's, Kraft, Nestle, Ford and GM, CHEP is known for Handling the World's Most Important Products. Everyday.

CHEP conducts all business in a sustainable manner by:
• Including the environment as a key factor in all decisions
• Proactively promoting and seeking environmentally sound programs and products
• Developing products and services that improve the environment
• Building on CHEP’s history of environmentally-friendly products
• Conducting business in an environmentally safe manner