When I first launched my company in 2012, I wanted to fulfill a dream. I wanted Good Green Moving to be a company that was 100% sustainable in every way by minimizing our carbon footprint and our consumption of natural resources.
Choosing to use biodiesel instead of diesel or hybrid vehicles was a major focus on that decision. This article tells the story of why Good Green Moving uses diesel fuel.
One: Diesel is more sustainable than gasoline because there are fewer refining processes, meaning fewer additives.
Two: For many decades diesel fuel has cost less to purchase. Though the price is about 30¢ – 40¢ higher for diesel per gallon today, the increased miles per gallon and overall sustainability vs. gasoline still makes diesel a better investment for my green fleet… or yours.
Three: Running a vehicle on diesel is better for the environment, which is why we plan on returning to using 100% recycled vegetable oil (biodiesel) as soon as our pumps are fixed later this year.
Four: Because we’ve use recycled vegetable oil, it’s cleaner and more sustainable than gasoline or electricity for hybrid or all-electric vehicles. After all, we’re using a by-product instead of something generated by fossil fuels.
Five: Biodiesel is a better, more efficient fuel than gasoline. Our three trucks: a 2006 Isuzu Diesel and a 2000 Isuzu Diesel are both 6-cylinder and get about 10-12 MPG, while our 2015 Mercedes Diesel 4-cylinder truck gets an amazing 28 MPG. That rivals most cars that are gasoline-powered.
Using Biodiesel Takes Trial-and-Error
When Good Green Moving started our trucks were running on 100% recycled vegetable oil until our warehouse station pump broke. When that happened, we fixed it, but soon learned that the biodiesel went bad and had impurities in it, which caused the fuel pump to break again.
This cost us thousands of dollars in repair bills for the trucks’ fuel pumps. That being said, we are in the process of fixing the pumps again, as we know how important this initiative is not only to the environment, but our corporate mission.
If you want to use diesel in your business, I recommend always using 100% diesel first, then research what blend of biodiesel will be best for your truck fleet. Remember to replace the fuel lines frequently to prevent the kinds of expensive problems we encountered.
Also, remember to use any of the biodiesel in your office’s fuel reservoir within a three-month period. If it sits there longer, drain it before using it again because it has a short shelf life and can cause problems to clog your trucks’ fuel systems.
We’re Doing Good for The Earth by Using Biodiesel
Our mission is to be running with biodiesel again in March after replacing all of the fuel lines in our trucks that have corroded or clogged.
We will continue to strive to be a 100% sustainable company. Here’s how:
- Our uniforms are made from organic cotton with water-based inks.
- All of our employees use reusable water bottles, paperless estimates and paperless quotes.
- We create 100% of our facility’s electricity from MCE Deep Green Energy via wind turbines.
- We use CFL light bulbs that use a fraction of the electricity of old-fashioned light bulbs.
- And we use reusable plastic totes for your moving and packing needs, instead of buying, using and having to recycle cardboard boxes.
- All of our supplies are locally sourced and manufactured in the United States.
- We donate monthly to the 10,000 Redwood Project and on average plant 25-100 redwood trees every month in Samuel P Taylor State Park.
Now that you know more about why we use biodiesel at Good Green Moving, I hope that you’ll consider using it for your business, too. If you have, we’d love to hear how its made a difference for you.
