Con-way Freight has been named to IDG's InfoWorld Green 15 Awards ranking for 2009.


The awards recognize the 15 most innovative IT initiatives that fall under the umbrella of sustainability. The honor is part of InfoWorld's Green 15 special feature, which was published on April 22 on InfoWorld.com.

The Green 15 were selected for their use of technology to drive projects and develop products aimed at boosting energy efficiency, trimming waste and reducing or eliminating the use or the production of harmful substances. Con-way Freight received the award for its Web-based linehaul simulation tool, which was used to analyze and optimize the company's freight transportation network.

In 2008, the company employed the technology to streamline its footprint of service centers, reducing overall network size by 10 percent. The solution removed 124,000 miles per day from operations, while moving freight volumes more efficiently and helping conserve 4.9 million gallons of diesel fuel. The lower fuel use equated to a 108.8 million pound reduction in annual carbon emissions.

"Improvements like linehaul simulation directly impact Con-way Freight's service goals - exception-free delivery, on-time performance and faster transit times - but also bring with them the critical benefit of protecting the environment," said Jacquelyn Barretta, Con-way's chief information officer. "This solution is an exciting example of the talent of our people and our efforts to conserve natural resources and meet sustainability goals. We're honored that an authoritative technology publication like InfoWorld commends our efforts."

Prior to the technology, implementing even minor changes to Con-way Freight's network was labor intensive, due to the complexity of network dependencies. Now, the tool can quickly produce an analysis of the effects of proposed changes by simulating freight flows through the proposed network and measuring their effect on performance, while also demonstrating whether the changes were beneficial from a number of perspectives.

A list of the 2009 InfoWorld Green 15 award winners is available at www.infoworld.com.