College of Engineering alumnus Billy Lawder recently led the charge for Anheuser-Busch to replace a diesel tractor fleet in Houston with compressed natural gas powered tractors.

The fleet is expected to reduce 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, and the lighter engines are expected to emit 23 percent less greenhouse gases compared with diesel. Lawder’s team worked to lessen environmental impact while increasing cost savings.

Lawder graduated from Georgia Tech in 2002 with a B.S. in industrial engineering. He is Anheuser-Busch's director of transportation engineering.

The decision to convert the Houston fleet was made because of its central location to Anheuser-Busch’s facilities and distributors as well as its proximity to fueling stations, according to James Sembrot, the company's senior director for transportation.

Anheuser-Busch collaborated with Ryder System, Inc. to make the switch, and Dennis Cooke, president for global fleet management solutions for Ryder, said, “We commend the Anheuser-Busch team for their leadership and decision to convert their entire Houston brewery fleet to cleaner, more efficient natural gas.”

Lawder’s team has jump-started Anheuser-Busch’s plan to reduce carbon emissions in its logistics operations from network planning, transportation, and warehousing by 15 percent by the end of 2017.