Eco-Driving Training Program

The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) coordinated a large-scale training program for Eco-Driving instructors to maximize fuel efficiency in freight vehicles. The program was conducted at the facilities of Fletes Mexico-Chihuahua in Ciudad Juarez. 

On September 23-26, 2013 a total of 21 instructors from the CECATI Industrial Job Training Centers and trainers employed by local and national trucking companies learned new energy-efficient driving techniques that will help reduce air emissions and fuel use. This program is jointly hosted by Mexico's Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Clean Air Institute (CAI) and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC).

This training is part of the Clean Transportation Program sponsored since 2010 by SEMARNAT and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT). The program intends to promote specific, high-impact actions to reduce energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and criteria pollutants, and to minimize operating costs for holders of federal cargo, passenger, tourism, and private transportation licenses. 

This is a voluntary program which builds upon the "Smartway" initiative launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In April 2010, the implementation of this program in Mexico resulted in a reduction of 634,486 ton/year of CO2 emissions. 

Gerardo Tarín, head of the Pollutant Management Department at SEMARNAT Chihuahua, said that 12 local companies are successfully implementing these fuel-efficiency techniques.

"The purpose of the Clean Transportation program is twofold: first, to reduce pollutant gas emissions, criteria gases such as ozone and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases released by freight trucks, and secondly, to realize fuel savings," he said.

He said six training courses were provided last year in Ciudad Juarez and trucking companies have reported up to 40 percent fuel savings using Eco-Driving techniques.

BECC Project Manager Jorge Hernandez explained that this training is funded by the Border 2020 Environmental Program. He said the program has demonstrated its efficiency in leveraging specific, high impact actions to reduce energy use and pollutant emissions. He added that the training is both theoretical and practical, and trainees can apply the fuel-efficiency driving techniques on the same day they learn them. 

Martín Garcia was one of the people who attended the training. He said this program is easy to understand and what is taught in the classroom can be implemented shortly after the course in a vehicle, so any questions or difficulties can be addressed almost immediately. He said the program's objectives are very good because they help the environment and reduce operating costs for the companies, making them more competitive.

Claudia Guerra, a Project Manager for Fletes Mexico Chihuahua, a participating company, said they expect to see results in the short term. She said they became involved in this type of training at the request of one of their clients and now they intend to adopt this policy and contribute to improve the environment and reduce their operating costs.

The results of the different Eco-Driving training activities carried out to date show an average savings of 17 percent in fuel use. In some exceptional cases, certain trucking companies in Toluca, Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez were able to reduce their fuel use by 44 to 49 percent and their CO2 in the same proportion.  

Mr. Hernandez reported that the goal for 2013 is to conduct four training workshops in different cities throughout the U.S.-Mexico border. He stressed that the program expects to train 50 Eco-Driving instructors and have 40 participating companies along the northern border of Mexico.