In the biodiesel industry there is nothing better than discovering a trucking company that uses biodiesel on a regular basis. I recently got a call from Blue Sky Shipping of San Francisco; they turned out to be some of biodiesel's biggest fans. Not only is Blue Sky using biodiesel in their fleet of six trucks, but they have incorporated the words "Powered by Biodiesel" into their logo.

Co-owner Charles Whitwam called the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) looking for a database of truckers and fleets using biodiesel. Blue Sky is developing a network of trucking companies to recommend when customers call with loads outside the San Francisco Bay area. Blue Sky specializes in local deliveries of goods, including grease hauling and flatbed loads, using two box trucks, one with an Isuzu engine and one with Caterpillar, a flatbed truck with a Cummins engine and three Dodge Rams with Cummins engines. The Rams provide faster courier service on hard to reach, narrow mountain roads. Blue Sky has been using biodiesel since 2003.

"Our fleet is powered by 100 percent North American biodiesel made mostly from recycled vegetable oil sourced from local restaurants," said Whitwam. "Our customers love the fact that we use biodiesel. By shipping with biodiesel, they do their part to lower greenhouse gasses, which is really important to a lot of manufacturers and distributors of goods."

Customers are digging Blue Sky's transporting with biodiesel so much that Blue Sky regularly gets calls from shippers looking for long haul deliveries out of Blue Sky's delivery area. Until now, Blue Sky didn't have a solution. So, Whitwam and his team decided to connect those shippers with other tuckers and fleets using biodiesel as a service-just because they like biodiesel that much. First they put a form on the website asking truckers and fleets that use biodiesel to join the network at http://www.blueskyshipping.com/sustainable_truckers.php. The next step will be to post the loads, so the "sustainable truckers" have access to opportunities-think of it like a "green" load board.

Why are they doing this? "Blue Sky wants to connect BioTruckers with 'green' shippers to provide a service to customers, support the biodiesel industry, and continue to maximize Blue Sky's efforts for energy independence," said Whitwam.

If you are planning to be at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas on June 25th-27th, stop by the National Biodiesel Board booth #1446 and meet Blue Sky Shipping. You can find out more about what it takes to start using biodiesel in your truck or fleet and sign up for the sustainable trucking network if you already use it.