~ 

~ 'SmartWay· 

Transport Partnership 

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

www.epa.gov/ smartway 

~ 

ft EA~ United States Environmental Protection ,..,,. Agency 

2018 SmartWay Shipper 

Partner Tool: 

Quick Start Guide 

U.S. Version 2.0.17 (Data Year 2017) 
~ 

~'SmartWay· 

Transport Partnership 

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

ft EA~ United States .. ~ Environmental Protection "1111,,. Agency 

2018 SmartWay Shipper 

Partner Tool: 

Quick Start Guide 

U.S.Version 2.0.17 (Data Year 2017) 

Transportation and Climate Division 

Offce of Transportation and Air Quality 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Offce of Transportation and Air Quality 

EPA-420-B-18-045 

October 2018 
Table of Contents 

Table of Contents ________________________________________________________ 3 

Overview_______________________________________________________________ 4 

Section 1—Basic Information for Shippers ____________________________________ 5 

What is the SmartWay Transport Partnership? ______________________________________ 5 

Why do Shippers join the SmartWay Transport Partnership? __________________________ 5 

How do Shippers join the SmartWay Transport Partnership? __________________________ 6 

How do I join if my parent company has multiple subsidiaries?_________________________ 7 

What Data Do I Need to Gather To Complete the Shipper Tool? ________________________ 7 

What is Included in the SmartWay Shipper Partnership Agreement? ____________________ 8 

What Software & Hardware Are Required to Complete the SmartWay Shipper Tool? ______ 10 

How To Set Security Levels For The SmartWay Tools ________________________________ 10 

Section 2— Overview of Shipper Data Collection and Input Requirements _________ 11 

Introductory Screens__________________________________________________________ 11 

Establishing Your Data Collection Year ___________________________________________ 11 

Step 1: Specify Official Partner Name ____________________________________________ 11 

Step 2: Enter Contact Information _______________________________________________ 12 

Step 3: Define Your Shipper Companies (Company Description(s)) _____________________ 12 

Step 4: Download the Latest Carrier Data File ______________________________________ 13 

Step 5: Specify Participation Level and Data Input Method ___________________________ 13 

Step 6: Enter Data for Each of Your Companies_____________________________________ 14 

Select Shipper Company for Data Entry ______________________________________ 14 

Input Carriers Screens ____________________________________________________ 15 

Carrier Subdivision Screen ________________________________________________ 16 

Activity Data Screen _____________________________________________________ 16 

% SmartWay Screen _____________________________________________________ 18 

Mile & Weight Improvements Screen _______________________________________ 19 

Modal Shift Impacts Screen _______________________________________________ 19 

Step 7: Review Your Results ____________________________________________________ 19 

Additional SmartWay Resources ________________________________________________ 19 

Step 8: Generate Data File for EPA _______________________________________________ 20 

Next Steps_____________________________________________________________ 21 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 3 
Overview 

In this guide you will learn about: 

1) Basic SmartWay information 

2) Joining SmartWay Transport Partnership as a shipper company 

3) Understanding the details of the SmartWay Partnership Agreement 

4) Meeting software/hardware requirements for participating in the program, and 

5) Gathering the necessary data to become a SmartWay Shipper Partner. 

Please review this guide carefully BEFORE attempting to gather your company data, or enter data into 

the Shipper Tool. Understanding the basics of the program will simplify your joining process. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 4 
Section 1—Basic Information for Shippers 

This section covers frequently asked questions and essential information about the SmartWay Transport 

Partnership and how shipper companies can participate. 

WHAT IS THE SMARTWAY TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP? 

Developed jointly in 2003 by EPA and charter partners represented by industry stakeholders, 

environmental groups, American Trucking Associations, and Business for Social Responsibility, the 

SmartWay Transport Partnership is EPA’s flagship program for improving fuel efficiency and reducing 

greenhouse gases and air pollution from the transportation supply chain industry. 

Seven types of freight transport companies can join SmartWay: 

• Freight shippers 

• Logistics companies (including 3PLs/4PLs1

) 

• Truck carriers 

• Rail carriers 

• Barge carriers 

• Air carriers 

• Multimodal carriers 

Companies join the SmartWay Transport Partnership by submitting a partner tool to SmartWay. The 

SmartWay tools (1) assess freight operations; (2) calculate fuel consumption and carbon footprints; and 

(3) track fuel-efficiency and emission reductions. SmartWay tools must be submitted each year for the 

company to remain a partner in good standing. Tools submitted and approved on time qualify partners 

to use the SmartWay Logo. 

SmartWay ranks Partners’ efficiency and environmental performance. Superior performance in various 

Partner categories is also recognized through the SmartWay Excellence Awards. 

WHY DO SHIPPERS JOIN THE SMARTWAY TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP? 

The SmartWay Transport Partnership provides shipper companies with ways to reduce the 

environmental impact of their freight operations and address costs. Designed with and for the freight 

sector, the SmartWay Transport Partnership delivers solutions to marketplace needs and challenges. 

With access to the latest in EPA-tested technologies and peer-provided success stories, carriers that join 

the SmartWay Transport Partnership can gain a better understanding of their environmental footprint 

and assert their corporate leadership. 

Additionally, SmartWay Partners are associated with an internationally recognized and respected brand 

that symbolizes cleaner, more efficient transportation choices. 

1 3PLs/4PLs Third party logistics companies/fourth-party logistics companies. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 5 
Shipper companies that join SmartWay move significant amounts of freight with SmartWay Carriers. The 

higher efficiency of carriers in SmartWay compared to non-SmartWay carriers gives SmartWay shipper 

companies an opportunity to improve corporate freight efficiency, reduce their carbon footprint, and 

voluntarily advance freight sustainability for themselves and their customers. 

Participation in SmartWay helps SmartWay Shipper Partners 

• identify opportunities to improve efficiency, 

• demonstrate efficiency to customers and stakeholders, 

• evaluate and compare carrier performance, and 

• determine the company’s transportation carbon footprint. 

SmartWay provides shippers with free tools that help assess and compare various freight transportation 

options with detailed reports and analyses that support better business decision making. 

HOW DO SHIPPERS JOIN THE SMARTWAY TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP? 

Shipper companies join SmartWay by submitting a SmartWay Shipper Tool (hereafter known as the 

“Shipper Tool,” or simply, the “Tool.”) 

Shipper companies that submit tools that are approved by EPA are known as “SmartWay Shipper 

Company Partners.” 

When a shipper company submits a Shipper Tool to EPA, they agree to the requirements stipulated in 

the SmartWay Shipper Partnership Agreement--notably, that they will measure and report the emissions 

performance of their company annually and provide supporting documentation to EPA upon request. 

All SmartWay Shipper Partners agree to complete and submit the SmartWay Shipper Tool to 

• define company composition, 

• characterize company activity, 

• individually benchmark multiple companies, and 

• track annual changes in performance. 

Upon approval of a Shipper Tool submission, a shipper company will be identified as a SmartWay 

Shipper Partner on EPA’s website, on the SmartWay Partner List, and in a database used to identify 

companies that meet SmartWay’s annual requirements. On-time submission and approval of the Tool 

also qualifies Shipper Partners for use of the SmartWay Logo. The carrier will also receive information on 

how to access its current SmartWay registration document and other information through the Partner 

Portal. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 6 
HOW DO I JOIN IF MY PARENT COMPANY HAS MULTIPLE SUBSIDIARIES? 

Shippers with subsidiaries may submit a single tool for their parent company and all of its subsidiaries. If 

a shipper chooses to do this, the entire organization will be considered a SmartWay Partner and the 

performance rating will be assigned to the entire organization. The partner will be listed on the 

SmartWay website under the parent company’s name. 

Individual subsidiaries may join as separate partners if the parent company wishes to have them listed 

individually on the SmartWay website. Each subsidiary would submit a separate tool. 

SmartWay highly recommends developing your list of subsidiary 

companies beforehand by using an organization chart or perhaps a 

customer interface web page. For example, evaluate how your 

organization contracts with carriers, identify your companies’ different 

NAICS codes, and determine how they choose what carriers to hire. 

The best strategy is to have a clear idea of how to define your companies 

before filling out the tool. 

WHAT DATA DO I NEED TO GATHER TO COMPLETE THE SHIPPER TOOL? 

To participate in SmartWay, shippers need to gather the following essential information to complete the 

Shipper Tool: 

• SmartWay ID number (if this is not your first tool submission) 

• The official company name to be used on the SmartWay website for public recognition of 

participation in SmartWay Company contact information 

o Contact details for your Working Contact 

o Contact details for an Executive Contact (cannot be the same as the working contact) 

Contact details for your Sustainability Contact and Other contacts (optional) 

• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for the company; and 

• A comprehensive list of all SmartWay carriers that the shipper uses to haul their freight for the 

reporting calendar year (this list should include all truck, rail, multimodal, barge, air, and 

logistics companies hired by the shipper) 

Additional information is required depending on the shipper’s selected level of participation. There are 4 

ways shippers can participate in SmartWay. Way 1, the SmartWay Candidate level, is only for companies 

who want to learn more about SmartWay before joining as a SmartWay Shipper Partner. To become a 

SmartWay Shipper Partner, select Way 2, Way 3, or Way 4. Under Way 2, 3, or 4, shippers participate as 

full SmartWay partners and submit activity and performance data using the SmartWay Shipper Tool. 

Selecting Way 3 or 4 will qualify shippers to compete for an annual SmartWay performance award. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 7 
Way 2 data requirements: 

• A non-mileage-based measure of how much business you do with each carrier. Examples 

include the amount of money you spend with each carrier, or the number of shipments per 

carrier; 

• A description of the data sources used to compile the alternative activity metric 

Note that Way 2 selection only provides shippers with a percent SmartWay score, not an emissions 

footprint, and will not qualify shippers for an annual SmartWay Award. 

Way 3 data requirements: 

• Activity data for all the carriers the shipper uses 

o Total miles contracted, ton-miles contracted, and/or average payload data for each 

SmartWay and non-SmartWay carrier 

o Description of data sources used to compile the activity data 

Way 4 data requirements: 

• All data required for Way 3 participation, plus at least one of the following: 

o Information to differentiate the freight the company moves with individual carriers by 

various methods, such as inbound versus outbound, domestic versus international, 

business unit, internal ID code, or other custom method 

o Information to evaluate company operational strategies eliminating miles or weight 

from their freight operations to reduce the shipper’s carbon footprint 

o Information to evaluate strategies to shift freight from one mode to another (e.g., 

from truck to rail) 

This data should be provided for all of the shipper’s companies. 

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SMARTWAY SHIPPER PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT? 

To join the SmartWay Transport Partnership as a shipper company, you must agree to the language on 

the “Partnership Agreement for Shippers.” When you begin working within the tool, you will be asked to 

check a box stating that you agree to the terms of the partnership agreement. This agreement must be 

renewed annually. 

Please review this language with the appropriate personnel within your organization before completing 

or submitting a Tool to EPA. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 8 
Partnership Agreement for Shippers 

With this agreement, your company joins EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership and 

commits to: 

1. Measure and report to EPA on an annual basis the emissions performance of your company 

using EPA's SmartWay Shipper Tool. (Existing companies must report the 12 months of data for 

the prior year ending December 31. Newly formed companies require a minimum of 3 months of 

operational data.) 

2. Agree to SmartWay listing your name on the SmartWay Transport Partnership website as a 

Partner company. 

3. Agree to submit supporting documentation to EPA for any data used to complete this tool and 

agree to EPA audit of this data upon request by EPA. 

4. Treat individual corporate data as sensitive business information. 

In return, EPA commits to: 

1. Promote company participation in the Partnership by posting Partner names on the EPA SmartWay 

website and in related educational, promotional, and media materials. EPA will obtain express 

written consent from the Partner before using the Partner’s name, other than in the context of 

increasing public awareness of its participation as described here. 

2. Provide companies with industry-wide performance benchmark data as this data becomes available 

to EPA.2 

3. Assist Partners in achieving emission and fuel usage reduction goals (subject to Federal Government 

Appropriations). 

General Terms 

1. If the Partner or EPA defaults upon this agreement at any point, the agreement shall be considered 

null and void. 

2. Either party can terminate the agreement at any time without prior notification or penalties or any 

further obligation. 

3. EPA agrees not to comment publicly regarding the withdrawal of specific partners. 

4. EPA reserves the right to suspend or revoke partner status for any Partner that fails to accomplish 

the specific actions to which it committed in the SmartWay Transport Partnership Agreement and 

subsequent Agreements. 

5. The Partner agrees that it will not claim or imply that its participation in the SmartWay Transport 

Partnership constitutes EPA approval or endorsement of anything other than the Partner’s 

commitment to the program. The Partner will not make statements or imply that EPA endorses the 

purchase or sale of the Partner’s products and services or the views of the Partner. 

6. Submittal of this SmartWay Shipper Tool constitutes agreement to all terms in this Partnership 

Agreement. No separate agreement need be submitted. 

2 Individual corporate data will be treated as sensitive business information. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 9 
WHAT SOFTWARE & HARDWARE ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE SMARTWAY 

SHIPPER TOOL? 

The Shipper Tool was designed in “Microsoft Excel Forms.” Completing the Shipper Tool requires the 

following software and hardware: 

• A 2007 or later version of Microsoft Excel 

• Excel security level set at Medium or lower 

• A PC running Windows XP or newer operating system, or a Mac that is running the 

Windows XP operating system. The tool does not currently work using the Mac 

operating system. 

• A minimum of 15 megabytes of free disk space. More disk space may be required based 

on the number of companies you define in your tool 

• Adequate memory (RAM) to run Microsoft Office 

• A monitor resolution of at least 1,024 x 768 

NOTE: The Excel web application in MS Office 365 (the cloud-based version of the Office operating 

system) does not currently support the macros used in the SmartWay tools. Therefore, SmartWay 

tools do no function properly in Office 365 at this time. 

Please check with the user specifications for your computer, online support, or your company’s IT 

department to make sure your system is set up to use the Shipper Tool. 

We encourage you to make sure that your virus software is up to date, and to scan your PC before 

putting data in the Shipper Tool. 

HOW TO SET SECURITY LEVELS FOR THE SMARTWAY TOOLS 

In some cases, Microsoft Excel will ask you to adjust your security settings before opening the Tool. 

Instructions should appear on your screen if you need to change your security settings before running 

the Tool. The instructions differ depending upon what version of Excel you use (Excel 2007, 2010, 

2013, or 2016). 

If you need additional assistance with your security settings, download the guidance document 

labeled “Shipper Partner 2.0.17 Tool: User Guide.2017 Data Year—United States Version” from 

https://www.epa.gov/smartway/smartway-shipper-partner-tools-and-resources and review the 

screen-by-screen guidance in Part 1: Downloading and Setting Up the Tool. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 10 
Section 2— Overview of Shipper Data Collection and Input 

Requirements 

This section will describe the data required for completing the required sections of the Shipper Tool. 

INTRODUCTORY SCREENS 

Upon opening the 2018 Shipper Tool you will see a Welcome screen. Next you will find several 

Introduction screens. If you are not familiar with the Tool, or if you wish to review the basic organization 

and functions of the Tool, these screens can help you become oriented. The Assistance for New Users 

screen appears first, and allows users to view an orientation video. Additional screens may be accessed 

from this screen including data collection needs, Tool help and navigation, the SmartWay Partner 

Schedule for 2018, and a link to the SmartWay website. These are general information screens and may 

be skipped if you are already familiar with the Tool. However, upon proceeding you MUST select the box 

at the bottom of the Partnership Agreement screen, indicating that you agree to the terms of the 

Partnership Agreement. 

Before proceeding to the Home screen you will see an Auto-population screen. This screen allows 

partners to input their SmartWay ID and automatically upload the information for the initial steps of the 

Tool (Partner Name, Contact Information, and, for existing partners, Shipper Company Description(s)), 

based on the prior year’s submittal or, for new partners, information submitted through the on-line 

SmartWay Portal. This option can save time and ensure naming consistency for your contacts and 

subsidiary companies from year to year. If you do not have a SmartWay ID, or prefer to enter this data 

manually, you may skip this step. 

ESTABLISHING YOUR DATA COLLECTION YEAR 

Before beginning your data collection, identify the last calendar year for which you have full annual (12 

months) data. This means that you have data from January of the calendar year through December of 

the same year. If you are a new SmartWay partner and do not have a full year of operational data, 

please collect a minimum of three months’ data for input into the SmartWay tool. In your next update 

year, you will be required to submit a full year’s data. 

STEP 1: SPECIFY OFFICIAL PARTNER NAME 

Your Partner Name is the official name that your customers would recognize for your company. 

You must specify your company’s official Partner Name, exactly as you want it to appear on the 

SmartWay website. 

For example, if you enter 

• ABC Company, 

• ABC Company, Inc., or 

• ABC COMPANY LLC 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 11 
Your company will be listed exactly as you’ve entered above. Therefore, it is important to pay special 

attention to proper capitalization, abbreviations, annotations, and punctuation. 

If you selected the auto-populate option please review the Partner Name as it appears on the 

screen, revising it as necessary. 

STEP 2: ENTER CONTACT INFORMATION 

The SmartWay Tool asks for: 

• General company information such as location, web address, phone number, etc. 

• A Working Contact3 for any questions about your company’s participation and Tool submissions 

• An Executive Contact4 for participation in awards and recognition events 

• A Sustainability Contact5 (optional), such as the company Sustainability Officer (may be the same 

as the Working or Executive Contact) 

• Additional contacts (optional): Additional contacts may include anyone who is not the Working 

Contact but may be involved with SmartWay (e.g., press/media contact, fleet manager, etc.). 

Note the Working and Executive contacts must be different. SmartWay recommends developing an 

internal succession plan to make sure that your Shipper Tool submission schedule is maintained, in the 

event that a Working Contact is reassigned, or leaves the company for any reason. Please use Worksheet 

#1 in Appendix A of this document to help you prepare your company’s contact information. 

STEP 3: DEFINE YOUR SHIPPER COMPANIES (COMPANY DESCRIPTION(S)) 

The Shipper Tool tracks shipping operations at the company level. Most partners should create one 

company, i.e. one line. 

However, if you have multiple subsidiary companies all with separate corporate identities and 

transportation systems, you may want to create multiple company records in the tool and characterize 

their carrier operations individually. 

3 The Working Contact is the individual designated by the executive contact to directly interface with SmartWay regarding specific tasks 

involved in the timely submission of the Tool. The Working Contact is responsible for coordinating the assembly of information to 

complete/update company data; completing and updating the Tool itself; maintaining direct communication with SmartWay; and keeping 

interested parties within the company apprised of relevant developments with SmartWay. (NOTE: To ensure that emails from SmartWay/EPA 

are not blocked, new Working Contacts may need to add SmartWay/EPA to their preferred list of trusted sources.) 

4 The Executive Contact is the company executive who is responsible for agreeing to the requirements in the SmartWay Partnership 

Agreement, overseeing the Working Contact (as appropriate), and ensuring the timely submission of the Tool to SmartWay. The Executive 

Contact also represents the company at awards/recognition events. This person should be a Vice President or higher-level representative for 

the company. 

5 The Sustainability Contact is responsible for monitoring and improving the company’s environmental performance. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 12 
Note that if you participate at the Way 4 level, you will also have the option of further refining your 

transportation activity for each company by internally tracking different business units, 

inbound/outbound/internal freight, and domestic versus international freight within the company’s 

carrier data identification; therefore, there is no need to list different internal divisions, product lines, 

etc. as separate companies. 

NOTE: Your Subsidiary Company Names will NOT appear on the SmartWay website, only your Partner 

Name. If you wish to have your companies/subsidiaries appear separately on the SmartWay website, 

please submit separate tools for each to EPA. 

Data Requirements for “Company Characterization” Screen 

For each shipper company, you will need to specify: 

• Company Name(s): Name your companies, beginning with your Partner Name followed by the 

specific company name. 

• NAICS Code(s): NAICS, or North American Industry Classification System codes, are the Federal 

standard for classifying businesses by activity type. NAICS codes can be up to six digits in length. 

Use the NAICS code(s) that most appropriately describes your company. Note: some large 

companies with multiple operations may only use two or three digit NAICS codes; in this case, 

you do not have to enter the full six digits. Detailed information can be found at 

http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/. 

STEP 4: DOWNLOAD THE LATEST CARRIER DATA FILE 

To ensure that the Shipper Tool gives you the most current list of SmartWay carriers to select from, you 

must select the Download Latest SmartWay Carrier Data File button on the Home screen. A new box 

will appear next to the button indicating the “Date of Current Carrier File.” You are now ready to go on 

to selecting carriers and entering activity data for each shipper company. 

You will not be able to input the required shipper company data in Step 5 without this file. You must 

have an active Internet connection to perform this step. 

STEP 5: SPECIFY PARTICIPATION LEVEL AND DATA INPUT METHOD 

No data are needed to complete this step, however you must choose the level at which you wish to 

participate and select how you would like to input data into the Tool. These choices will affect data 

needed to complete the following sections. On the Participation Level screen, you have the option 

to choose to participate at the Way 2, Way 3, or Way 4 level. The table below summarizes the 

three options and describes the benefits, inputs needed, and the input methods available. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 13 
Option Way 2: Basic Freight Way 3: Standard Freight Way 4: Advanced Freight 

Assessment Assessment Assessment 

Best for: Shippers with limited data 

that want to start freight 

efficiency planning. 

Inputs needed: Carrier names and relative 

data (e.g., amount spent, 

number of shipments, 

volume shipped, or another 

custom metric) 

Benefits: Manual only 

Define a relative freight 

performance metric (% 

SmartWay) 

Be recognized as a 

Smartway Partner 

Shippers that want a freight 

emissions footprint to guide 

their freight decision making. 

Carrier names; mileage, tonmiles and/or payload data per 

carrier 

Manual or data import 

All the benefits of Way 2 plus 

the ability to: 

Build a freight performance 

assessment based on per 

carrier mileage and payload 

Compete for recognition 

through the SmartWay 

Excellence Awards 

Shippers that want a moredetailed freight emissions 

footprint and added analysis. 

Carrier names; mileage, ton-miles 

and/or payload data per carrier; 

and additional operational 

strategies and mode split data 

Manual or data import 

All the benefits of Way 3 plus the 

ability to: 

Subdivide freight activity based 

on inbound vs outbound, 

domestic vs international, 

discrete business units, and/or 

other criteria 

Compare emissions savings from 

various mode and operational 

strategy changes 

Receive additional credit for 

SmartWay Excellence Award 

STEP 6: ENTER DATA FOR EACH OF YOUR COMPANIES 

Next you will identify the carriers included in each of your shipper companies, and then enter either 

detailed activity data or relative carrier data depending on the Participation Level you selected in the 

previous section. The screens you must complete will depend on the Participation Level and Data Input 

Method you specified in the previous section. 

Select Shipper Company for Data Entry 

On the Home screen, you will now see all the shipper companies you created listed in the window below 

item # 5: Data Entry. There will be a status message after each company, indicating whether or not the 

data entry for that company is complete. The following information may appear beside a company 

name: 

• Not checked - Data has not been entered yet. 

• Incomplete - Some data is still missing and/or inconsistent. 

• Complete - All data requirements have been met and validation has occurred. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 14 
In addition to the status indicators above, you may also see one of two qualifiers: “Errors” or 

“Warnings.” 

• Errors will prevent you from generating the metrics reports under the Review Your Results 

section and must be addressed before you can submit your Tool to EPA. 

• Warnings will still allow you to proceed and submit your data to EPA. However, it is strongly 

recommended that you carefully review each warning message before sending your data to EPA 

so that you can anticipate questions that may come from a Partner Account Manager as a result 

of your data being outside the expected ranges. The method addressing errors and warnings is 

described for subsequent input screens in the following sections. 

To add data to a particular company, highlight the company name and then double-click. You will then 

proceed to the Tool Data Entry Screens. 

Input Carriers Screens 

In this section, you must specify the carriers that your shipper company uses. There are different 

methods to select carriers depending on your level of participation and input method. Regardless 

of the method you choose you will need to first identify the mode of transport for the carrier. Six 

carrier mode selections are available, including: 

• Rail 

• Truck 

• Multimodal 

• Logistics 

• Barge 

• Air 

Next, you may also specify a SmartWay Category for the Truck and Multimodal modes. Truck 

SmartWay Categories include: 

• Auto Carrier 

• Dray 

• Expedited 

• Flatbed 

• Heavy/Bulk 

• LTL Dry Van 

• Mixed 

• Moving 

• Package 

• Refrigerated 

• Specialized 

• Tanker 

• TL Dry Van 

Multimodal SmartWay Categories include: 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 15 
• Surface 

• Surface-Air 

• Surface Marine 

• Surface-Air-Marine 

SmartWay Category selections are not currently available for other modes but may be added in 

the future. 

After identifying the mode (and SmartWay Category, if available), you should identify each 

carrier’s specific fleet name, listed in the SmartWay Carrier Data file, along with any associated 

SCACs, DOT numbers, MCNs, and NSCs. 

After identifying your SmartWay carriers, you must also enter the number of non-SmartWay 

carriers used by the shipper company. Only include carriers used during the reporting year. If the 

company has non-SmartWay carriers, you will also select the carrier mode(s) associated with the 

non-SmartWay carrier(s). For truck carriers, specify the appropriate carrier type (e.g., nonSmartWay Dray). If you are not sure of the appropriate truck carrier type, select the “General” 

option. 

Details on data entry and which screens you will have to complete depending on your participation 

level and input method selections are described in the Data Entry section below. 

Carrier Subdivision Screen 

NOTE: This screen is only applicable to the Way 4 participation level. 

If you selected the Way 4 participation level, you may specify supplemental information to help you 

further characterize your carrier use on this screen. For example, you can designate certain carriers used 

for domestic or international routes. The optional information may be applied to any carrier and include 

the following: 

• Company Identifier 

• ID Code 

• Inbound/Outbound/Internal 

• Domestic/International 

• Internal Shipper Segment 1 

• Internal Shipper Segment 2 

You must complete this screen, the Mile & Weight Improvements screen, or the Modal Shift Impacts 

screen if you selected the Way 4 level. 

Activity Data Screen 

NOTE: This screen is only applicable to the Way 3 and Way 4 level. 

First provide detailed text describing the Data Source(s) used to estimate your mileage and ton-mile 

data for your carriers. Be sure to indicate how you calculated the values, and where this data was 

obtained. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 16 
Next, identify any carrier fleets operated directly by the shipper company by checking the Shipper 

Carrier box. This allows the Tool to exclude these carriers from the Scope 3 emissions calculations 

provided in the Public Disclosure Report. See the Shipper Tool Technical Documentation for further 

details on the Public Disclosure Reports. 

Next specify a Data Availability option for each carrier. There are four Data Availability options: 

a - Ton-miles and Total miles (preferred option), 

b - Ton-miles and Average Payload, 

c - Total miles and Average Payload, and 

d - Total miles only 

You should use the option for which you have the most reliable data: 

• If you have reliable data for both ton-miles and miles, you should select Option a. 

• If you don’t have reliable miles data, but do have reliable ton-mile data, select Option b. 

• If you don’t have reliable ton-miles data, but do have reliable miles data, select from options c 

or d. 

NOTE: LTL and Package carriers may not select Option d, due to the importance of estimating precise 

payloads for these carrier types. 

Choose the method that uses the most accurate data at your disposal for each carrier. In this way the 

Tool will utilize the most accurate data available for the ton-mile and mile comparison metrics as well as 

for the emissions footprint calculations. 

After specifying the Data Availability Option, record your activity data. 

If the carrier mode is rail, record total railcar-miles, or if barge, then record barge-miles, otherwise 

specify total truckload-miles. Enter the data to the nearest whole number. 

Data Availability Option a – Enter total ton-miles and total miles. Total miles corresponds to truck miles, 

railcar miles, or barge miles, as appropriate. For rail carriers, DO NOT enter train miles, and for barge 

carriers, DO NOT enter miles for the entire string of barges – enter the sum of miles for each individual 

railcar and/or barge load. 

Data Availability Option b - Enter total ton-miles along with your estimated average payload (per truck 

or railcar, as appropriate) in short tons (2,000 lbs.) 

Data Availability Option c - Enter total miles along with your estimated average payload (per truck, 

barge or railcar, as appropriate) in short tons (2,000 lbs.) 

Data Availability Option d - Enter total miles. 

Shipper Partner Tool Quick Start Guide Part 1 | P. 17 
IMPORTANT: Correctly calculating Ton-Miles is critically important for the accurate 

determination of your carbon footprint. 

You can calculate your company’s ton-miles as follows: 

Enter the ton-miles hauled per year attributable to each carrier. A ton-mile is one ton moving one 

mile. DO NOT ESTIMATE TON-MILES BY SIMPLY MULTIPLYING TOTAL MILES BY TOTAL TONS - this 

calculation effectively assumes your entire tonnage is transported on EACH AND EVERY truck, and will 

clearly overstate your ton-miles. 

There are two ways to calculate ton-miles: 

1. Companies can determine their average payload per carrier, multiply the average payload by 

the total miles per carrier, and sum the results for all carriers for the reporting year; or 

2. Set Ton-miles per carrier = (total miles per carrier x total tons per carrier) 

total # of trips per carrier 

To check your estimate, divide ton-miles by miles. The result is your fleet-average payload. If this 

number is not reasonable, please check your calculations. 

% SmartWay Screen 

The % SmartWay screen calculates your % SmartWay Value, reflecting the fraction of miles, ton-miles, 

or user-provided custom metric attributable to SmartWay carrier partners. 

The % SmartWay Value is used to help determine eligibility for SmartWay Excellence Awards for Way 3 

and Way 4 participants. 

Carriers identified in the Input Carriers screens are automatically carried over to this screen. If you 

selected the Way 3 or Way 4 participation level, the fractional mileage and ton-mile amounts 

attributable to each carrier are also shown here and may be used as weighting factors across your 

carriers to calculate your % SmartWay Value. There are no data requirements if you select to use tonmiles or total miles as the weighting factor on this screen. 

If you selected the Way 2 participation level or would like to use something other than ton-miles or total 

miles, you must specify an alternative weighting factor to apply across the different carriers, such as the 

percentage of total payments, the percentage of total weight or total packages, or an alternative 

“custom” for calculating your % SmartWay Value. In this case you must enter the type of data you use 

for your percentage allocation estimates using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, and then 

enter the percent allocated to each carrier. Percentages must sum to 100. You must also document the 

custom factor methodology in the text box presented at the lower left of the screen. 

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Note: If you are participating at the Way 2 level, you will not see the Ton-Mile or Total Mile columns 

presented on the % SmartWay screen. 

Mile & Weight Improvements Screen 

NOTE: This screen is only applicable to the Way 4 participation level. 

This screen allows users to estimate the emissions savings impacts for a range of activities and best 

practices which impact the emission footprint of the transportation supply chain (e.g., reducing miles 

traveled in the transportation network through route or cube optimization, or reducing weight through 

package reduction, among others). You should have data about your company’s activities or possible 

activities to complete this screen. You must complete this screen, the Carrier Subdivision screen, or the 

Modal Shift Impacts screen if you selected the Way 4 level. 

Modal Shift Impacts Screen 

NOTE: This screen is only applicable to the Way 4 participation level. 

The Modal Shift Impacts screen allows partners to evaluate the emissions impact of moving to different 

modes (e.g. truck-to-rail or rail-to-barge). You need data about potential modal shifts in order to 

complete this screen. You must complete this screen, the Carrier Subdivision screen, or the Mile & 

Weight Improvements screen if you selected the Way 4 level. 

STEP 7: REVIEW YOUR RESULTS 

Now that you have identified your carriers and provided the required activity information, you must 

examine your company’s emission performance and mass emission estimates by selecting the Review 

Your Results button under Step 6 on the Home screen. Carefully review the three reports shown on the 

Emissions Summary, Carrier Performance, and Truck Carrier Performance (SmartWay Category Detail) 

screens. These reports provide high level emissions and performance summaries as well as detailed 

breakouts by mode and for specific carriers, as well as by other category groupings. Review the results 

carefully for any anomalous results that may indicate possible carrier and/or activity data entry errors. 

You will not be allowed to proceed through the Tool until you view each of these three screens. Once 

complete you can return to the Home screen. 

ADDITIONAL SMARTWAY RESOURCES 

After completing Steps 1 – 7 on the Home screen, EPA strongly encourages you to explore the optional 

sections of the Tool available at the bottom of the screen before completing your submission. Four 

options are provided in this section including the following. 

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View Summary Data Reports – this button gives you access to 14 reports to help you understand your 

data and use it to make better performance decisions, including the new Public Disclosure Report 

containing Scope 3 emissions. 

Feedback and Recruiting Assistance – On the Suggestions screen, you may respond to some or all of 

these questions in order to provide feedback regarding the various aspects of the SmartWay program. 

SmartWay values your feedback. Any information you provide will be used to improve the program, and 

will be kept confidential. Use the scroll bar to the right to display additional questions. On the Recruiting 

Targets screen, you may select up to 10 of your largest non-SmartWay carriers to help target companies 

for potential recruitment into the program. 

Year-to-Year Performance - The Year-to-Year Performance Report allows the user to compare the 

company characteristics and activity values, as well as performance metrics for the current year with 

those of the prior year. This report is particularly helpful in identifying any changes that may have 

occurred since your last reporting period, determining trends in activity and performance over multiple 

years, and performing general quality assurance of the inputs used for your current Tool. 

Visit the Partner Portal - You may select the Visit the SmartWay Partner Portal button which will open 

a web browser to the login page of the EPA SmartWay Portal. The portal provides access to a range of 

useful documents and functions including the partner registration document, the SmartWay Partner 

Logo, a sample press release, an online version of the feedback survey, and Awards information if 

applicable. 

STEP 8: GENERATE DATA FILE FOR EPA 

Once data entry is successfully completed you will generate a file in XML format to send to EPA. 

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Next Steps 

Your next step is to download the detailed Shipper Tool User Guide and the Tool itself to begin 

completing your Shipper Tool submission. 

Please visit https://www.epa.gov/smartway/smartway-shipper-partner-tools-and-resources for 

additional resources, including data collection worksheets and video tutorials. 

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