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Company Biography

Iingram Barge Company (Ingram) has been a quality marine transporter on America's inland waterways since 1946.  Ingram transports coal, aggregates, grain, fertilizer, ores, alloys, steel and chemicals with a fleet of more than 100 tow boats and nearly 4000 barges.  Ingram transports large quantities of vital resources to help keep our nation running, ease congestion on the highways and create jobs.  Ingram Barge Company with over a century and a half serving the country's transportation needs, is the perfect example of why America's waterways transportation system is growing and the country is benefiting both economically and environmentally.  Recent transportation studies concluded that ton for ton, barges have fewer accidents, consume less energy, produce fewer harmful emissions and are less disruptive to society in general.  One gallon of fuel can move one ton of cargo, 155 miles by truk, 43 miles by train and 576 miles by water.

Nature.org:  How did your company develop an interest in conservation?

Conservation has long been an integral part of Ingram's DNA.  As the nation's largest carrier of inland waterways, Ingram Barge Company has a great responsibility to protect the nation's natural resources.  As an advocate for river health, the company has committed to being an industry leader in environmental stewardship, this means moving more cargo over greater distances using less energy and water and creating less waste.  As a waterways transportation business, Ingram is a company that bases its livelihood directly on natural resources.  It's always been in our best interest to engage in sustainable practices and to focus on the education of future generations about the importance of protecting and preserving our nation's waterways, from the smallest stream to the largest river. 

Nature.org:  How is your company incorporating sustainability practices into its operations plan?

As Ingram continues its environmental endeavors, it knew it was important to have a systemic approach.  The core values of Ingram Barge Company are, as depicted in the Ingram Compass: Teamwork, Family, Pride, Customer Satisfaction and Zero Harm.  These values encompass IBCO's commitment to be a good steward of our environment and natural resources.  For this reason we have named our formal sustainability initiative ENcompass.  ENcompass builds on IBCO's past performance and charts a course for improved environmental performance. 

We have identified three key sustainability Focus Areas for our company:  Water, Air Emissions, and Land.  Each Focus Area has specific short-term and long-term environmental performance goals to go along with our sustainability policy. 

Ingram has full time positions dedicated to focusing on associate education, awareness and engagement as well as engaging diverse partners to advance Ingram's sustainability strategy and growth.  Efforts to continue to weave environmental focus systemically across the organization have resulted in placing the sustainability functions as a key responsibility of the Ingram corporate planning and analysis team. 

Ingram's internal initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint through engagement with every associate helped Ingram to be names as one of the first marine transportation companies accepted as a partner in the EPA's SmartWay Program.  Our company recently retrofitted six towboats in its industry-leading inland marine fleet with a unique DOC and closed crank case emission control system.  The device fits inside the exhaust system of a towboat engine and reduces the amount of pollution resulting from burning diesel fuel.  The results included significant reductions in particulates, carbon monooxide, and hydrocarbons from exhaust emissions from teh retrofitted vessels.  Emissions testing has shown that the new DOC systems exhibited average particulate matter reductions of more than 40 percent and carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon reductions of more than 60 percent.  This program led Ingram to win the 2011 Southeast Diesel Collaborative "Leadership Award" for our environmental sustainability effort. 

Ingram's long-term commitment to air emissions reduction spans 15 years through a diesel engine upgrade and replacement program within their fleet of 130 towboats.  Because Ingram associates live and work on the rivers daily, as have generations of our families, we try to work toward partnerships and innovative ways that will reduce emissions in their communities. 

There are a number of diversified stakeholders of the Great Mississippi River System including recreation, wildlife habitat, flood control, public water supply, irrigation, and economic development.  Through partnerships with agencies such as Living Lands & Waters, Great Rivers Partnerships and The Nature Conservancy, and other diversified stakeholders, Ingram is working towards preserving the rivers for future generations.

Nature.org:  Describe your interactions with The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky

In June 2009, Ingram barge Company joined forces with The Nature Conservancy to support conservation efforts in Western Kentucky along the Mississippi River.  Ingram made a financial commitment to support conservation activities on lands located where Obion Creek and Bayou Du Chien flow into the Mississippi River in Hickman County, Kentucky.  In May of 2010, the Conservancy acquired 266 acres in the target area leveraging funds provided by Ingram.  This purchase put the Conservancy a step closer to their long-term goal of restoring and reconnecting more than 18,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forest and wetlands.

Ingram's partnership support help laid the groundwork in the Mississippi River Basin Initiative and contributed to the project's success in obtaining $14.4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative (MRBI) announced in June, 2011.  By combining the USDA MRBI funds with other state and private funding, the Conservancy will provide incentives and compensation for farmers in  these watersheds to help reduce flooding and agricultural runoff through restoration and by working to permanently protect these habitats for the benefit of future generations.

Nature.org:  Do you have a favorite project of TNC's?  Any advice for other people interested in Kentucky conservation?

For Ingram, the Obion Creek and Bayou Du Chien project in Fulton County, Kentucky is our favorite project.  The project is located near both Ingram operations and associates that live in the area.  Ingram towboats pass by the restoration project daily and are proud of the commitment to conservation.

If Ingram could pass along advice from our experience in working with TNC-KY, it is to engage in the conversation.  Learn about local and regional TNC projects in your area.  Find out where you can help the experts at TNC make your community a better place.  Most importantly, a small investment such as that made by Ingram on the Obion Creek and Bayou Du Chien project can create a platform for larger successes in advancing wetland restoration and the protection of private lands.