Comprehensive management programs and processes
allow organizations to experiment with creative
means of solving environmental problems. SAS
Airlines, operating from an ecologically sensitive
region in Scandinavia, was one of the first European
air carriers to recognize the necessity of reducing pollution
and developed innovative ways of improving
fuel efficiency by 50 per cent between 1968 and 1998.
Trucking terminals and fleet companies can mitigate
environmental damage by using ‘single multi-purpose
solvents’ or water-based or water soluble cleaners
instead of chemical solvents, and by extending
the life of solvent baths. Installation of environmentally-
friendly truck washing facilities at Allied Systems’
Norfolk Terminal, for example, removed and
captured in a fully contained unit oil and grease and
used water and biodegradable soaps in place of
chemicals. Some firms choose on-site solvent recovery
techniques using decanting, filtration or distillation.
Oil recycling, mechanical parts cleaning, and
use of water-based paints with no solvents can
reduce pollution in vehicle maintenance and cleaning
operations. By adopting new paint processes in its
paint and body shops, United Parcel Service (1998)
was able to decrease paint usage by 40–50 per cent
and solvent and paint cleanup waste by 95 per cent.
Applying new technology in its parts washers to
extend solvent life allowed it to decrease solvent disposal
by 78 per cent.