TORRANCE, CA – John Davis, producer/host/creator of MotorWeek, and Mitch Jackson, vice president of environmental affairs and sustainability for FedEx Corporation, will be delivering the keynote speeches at the 2012 Green Fleet Conference. The conference will be held Oct. 2-3 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, near the Chicago metropolitan area.

Davis will be kicking off the two-day event starting at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 with a review of the state of today’s green market. In addition to his role as producer, host, and creator of the MotorWeek automotive series, Davis also writes a bi-weekly feature on automotive industry topics in The Washington Post.

Davis is a strong supporter of alternative fuels and has worked with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to promote public awareness, including serving as an annual speaker at DOE's Clean Cities convention. He has received some of the highest awards in automotive journalism and television, including two Emmy Awards, an International Automotive Media Award in 2005 from the International Society for Vehicle Preservation, International Wheel Awards in 2004 and 2003, and two Golden Wheel Awards in 1999, including the grand award, from the Detroit Press Foundation.

FedEx’s Jackson will be delivering the keynote on Oct. 3, the second day of the two-day event.

Jackson, a 20-plus-year transportation industry veteran, joined FedEx in 1992. In his current role, he provides strategic direction and vision for all aspects of the company’s sustainability initiatives and environmental innovations and technologies, as well as counsel on all corporate projects to ensure they include an environmental and sustainability perspective that supports FedEx’s leadership role and eco-advantage. 

Jackson pioneered the implementation of hybrid vehicles in the FedEx fleet. In conjunction with FedEx Government Affairs, he was instrumental in successfully securing legislation for fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas requirements in commercial trucking. Under his leadership, FedEx has taken a holistic approach to fleet management and fuel efficiency with a significant expansion in lower polluting, higher efficiency vehicles. Jackson was also a key advocate for increasing the number of hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles in service by 20 percent during 2011, and under his recommendation FedEx will integrate close to 4,000 new, fuel-efficient Sprinters during 2012.

Jackson currently is a board member of the Keystone Center’s National Energy Board and serves on the American Trucking Association’s board of directors. He has also served as environmental juror for the Heinz Awards and is a past chairman of the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI).

Visit www.greenfleetconference.com to see the lineup of conference speakers.

By Grace Suizo