J.B. Hunt Transport Services is part of a new partnership of corporations and environmentalists that announced a new initiative designed to reduce greenhouse gases and improve air and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region.


Natural gas and electricity supplier Washington Gas Energy Services, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (an environmental group), transportation logistics firm J.B. Hunt Transport Services, and clean energy pioneer Sterling Planet, have joined forces to launch CleanSteps Carbon Offsets, a new feature of WGES' natural gas supply service that includes a newly created Carbon Reduction Fund.

When customers choose WGES as their natural gas supplier, a portion of their natural gas usage is matched with CleanSteps Carbon Offsets. Customers can also choose to match 100 percent of their natural gas usage with CleanSteps Carbon Offsets.

Carbon offsets will come from clean air projects that result in greenhouse gas reductions, as well as other local and regional benefits. In addition, funding will be provided to the newly established Carbon Reduction Fund, administered by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The fund will be used to develop new carbon offset projects that also promote the health of the Bay.

Initially, a major source of carbon offsets will be those created by J.B. Hunt through their program to reduce long-haul trucking mileage by shifting freight to more efficient rail transportation. "By transferring containers from trucks to trains, we not only reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, but we also improve local air quality and reduce traffic by putting fewer trucks on busy highways," said Gary Whicker, senior vice president, Engineering Services for J.B. Hunt.

The Carbon Reduction Fund will be supported by contributions from both Sterling Planet and WGES, contributions that will reach over $200,000 per year when WGES's current customer base transitions to the new standard offer. The funds will be used by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to plant trees along rivers and streams that feed into the Bay, and to work with area farmers to implement new agricultural practices that reduce toxic runoff.

Learn more about CleanSteps Carbon Offsets at www.cleansteps.com/offsets.