KeHe Advances Environmental Leadership With New Partnership

KeHE Distributors has joined SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide a framework to assess environmental and energy efficiency as goods move through the supply chain.

By joining the partnership, Naperville, Ill.-based KeHE will contribute to the program’s overall savings of 215.4 million barrels of oil, $29.7 billion in fuel costs and 103 million tons of air pollutants -- the equivalent of eliminating annual energy use in more than 14 million homes.

“As a Certified B Corporation, we are committed to environmental stewardship. As we pursue our journey of sustainability, it is important for us to monitor our emissions and reduce our carbon footprint. We partnered with the EPA SmartWay program to better understand the impact our fleet has on the planet, and have set reduction targets accordingly,” said Laura McCord, KeHE's executive director, sustainability and corporate responsibility.

SmartWay was launched in 2004 by the EPA and charter partners that included industry stakeholders, environmental groups, American trucking associations and Business for Social Responsibility.

Employee-owned KeHE provides natural and organic, specialty, and fresh products to chain and independent grocery stores, as well as to natural food stores and other specialty product retailers in North America.