Owens & Minor Links with EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership

Owens & Minor, Inc. has announced that it has joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry.

In a release, the Company noted that the SmartWay Transport Partnership is designed to increase energy efficiency, while at the same time, significantly reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution. Owens & Minor's private fleet and its energy-efficient business practices earned the SmartWay Performance score of 1.25, the highest rating available in the SmartWay Transport Partnership.

Through its fleet management practices, Owens & Minor said that it will contribute to the Partnership's goal to reduce 33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year by 2012, through improvement in the environmental performance of private fleet operations. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, and nitrogen oxide is an air pollutant that contributes to smog. By joining SmartWay Transport Partnership, Owens & Minor said that it is demonstrating its belief in strong environmental leadership and corporate responsibility.

"By continuously striving to make our nationwide fleet more fuel efficient and cost-effective in order to better serve our healthcare customers, we are also doing our part to help the environment, and that is important for our industry, our company, our teammates and our customers," said Craig R. Smith, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. "We look forward to finding new ways to collaborate with customers and carriers to make even stronger contributions to increased energy efficiency. Owens & Minor is honored to join this partnership and pleased that we achieved the highest rating from the SmartWay Transport Partnership."

Owens & Minor has already made improvements in fuel economy by reducing vehicle speed, enabling automatic idle shutdown, replacing older equipment and choosing new equipment with automatic transmissions. Owens & Minor fleet management teammates and drivers will continue to research ways to reduce the company's carbon footprint by continuing to work closely with the SmartWay Transport Partnership.

Launched in February 2004, the SmartWay Transport Partnership aims to achieve fuel savings of up to 150 million barrels of fuel per year. The Partnership brings together freight shippers, trucking companies, railroads, logistics companies and trade and professional associations to pursue mutually beneficial efficiencies that result in emissions reductions and other environmental improvements, as well as cost savings to the companies.

Owens & Minor, Inc. is a distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company.

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