Penske, Shell aim to drive decarbonization, sustainability

The aim is to push their warehouse facilities, vehicle and fleet technologies to sustainable transportation routes, while also improving the green credentials of IndyCar. 

“Shell and Penske have a long history of working together across truck leasing, logistics, automotive retail and motorsports,” said Huibert Vigeveno, downstream director of Shell. “I am proud of the work we have done together and excited to deepen our relationship.

“Customers have many choices to make when navigating the challenges and opportunities of decarbonization. Our strategic collaboration will allow us to offer customers more options and integrated solutions for a smoother transition.”

Roger Penske said: “Over 10 years ago, Shell and Penske Corporation and Team Penske began a business to business, technical and motorsports collaboration. During that time, commercial enterprise has grown significantly between our organizations. Now, by combining Shell’s energy solutions with Penske Logistics and technology expertise, the companies aim to help customers achieve their sustainability goals faster and at a lower cost.”

As well as Penske’s upgrades to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the fans, Penske and Pennzoil Quaker State will aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the race facility and is working with the Council for Responsible Sport. 

IMS president Doug Boles explained: “In 2019 we did a waste management study. Waste Management comes in and offers their expertise. We want to see what the footprint looks like and where we have opportunities for improvement. We sort of put that on the sidelines and didn’t activate. When Roger and Bud heard we did that, and knowing they had the Shell relationship, we pulled it back out. 

“Even before closing day on January 6 [2020, the day Roger closed the deal on the Speedway and IndyCar] Roger got out and started walking around the facilities and focused on the customer experience. He wasn’t thinking about how you generate more revenue through investment, but how you make the customer experience better

“He looked at places inside the facility and Roger realized early on, we were very far behind. We looked at the restrooms. Maybe you’ve heard about it. We’ve invested in that in the last year and a half. The lighting; some of it was going back to shortly after World War II. So there’s LED lighting. And all of the faucets – in old days, this being pre-Roger Penske, we’d send a team through 165 public restrooms to make sure the faucets would turn off. We’ve changed them all so now they automatically go off. 

“One of our biggest challenges in the month of May is our paper product. What do we do with it? There’s so much paper product. We have eliminated most of the hand towels, which is not just a mess for us, but also goes to landfill somewhere. So there’s now air dryers, so they are more environmentally friendly.

“We work with a local power supplier, IPL-AES. We are now purchasing credits or energy that we get, so much of it comes from sustainable renewable energy and not traditional. They’re little steps. We’ve come a long way in six months but we still have a long way to go.

“We are talking about how do we use the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and the NTT IndyCar Series not just for the facility but also a way to encourage others? We believe we can make a difference, with our other partners and sponsors.”

President of Penske Corp. Bud Denker stated: “We have a memorandum of understanding, an MOU, with a strategic collaboration with the Shell organization to decarbonize our business. It’s a complicated process and also a journey.

“We have a lot of employees and responsibility to this world. There’s a lot of examples we have already started. With the fleet of vehicles, we’ve already established a fleet of totally electric trucks in the California marketplace. These are your classic semi trucks and box trucks. One example for Starbucks, we are running a complete route of Starbucks California as fully electric. From distribution centers to stores and back.

“Now many customers in California are raising their hands and saying we want to be part of this understanding, and be part of the organization. That’s a great example.

“Another example of decarbonization is in automotive facilities. One of our automotive campuses in New Jersey has 65 HVA systems on our rooftops. Some operate well. Some are older but still operate well. Shell has installed sensors and monitors that output of every one of these HVA systems. And are helping us in the journey of lowering our energy costs and energy usage. This saves us tens of thousands dollars a month and a lot of energy. This journey goes across the entire supply chain from facilities to distribution centers, to trucks, to fleets and into our homes.

Shell’s VP of global enterprise accounts, Danny Silva, said: “We are making sure this is a reality. There is a strong foundation, and loads of work is going into this. The partners are mutual partners. The power of decarbonizing can go beyond what is normal to find solutions. 

“I think we have good solid foundations to do this. I’m very happy to announce we are taking this to the next level, with the memorandum of understanding. We want to accelerate this. I think another example you can see on the track.”

“I cannot thank everyone enough for the partnership and trust between Penske and Shell.”