Draft:Eric Beckwitt
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Eric Beckwitt
[edit]Eric Beckwitt is a Canadian‑based American entrepreneur and environmental advocate best known as the co‑founder and chief executive officer of Freightera Logistics, an online freight marketplace that emphasizes low‑emission shipping. Since co‑founding the firm with his wife, Zhenya Beckwitt, in 2014, Beckwitt has promoted the use of SmartWay‑certified trucking fleets and rail carriers to reduce greenhouse‑gas emissions in North American freight transport. Early life and environmental activism
Beckwitt grew up in California and began environmental advocacy at age 19, successfully challenging a U.S. Forest Service plan that would have affected the Tahoe National Forest. He subsequently founded the Sierra Biodiversity Institute, working on conservation projects across California and the Pacific Northwest. [citation needed]
Career
[edit]Sierra Business Council – GIS Analyst (1990–2001)
Jones & Stokes – Senior GIS Analyst (2002–2003)
Centauria – Chief Executive Officer and award‑winning web‑development strategist (2003–2020)
Freightopolis – Chief Development Officer (2011–2013)
Freightera Logistics (2014–present)
Beckwitt and Zhenya Beckwitt launched Freightera in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2014. Within its first decade the platform reported that more than 80 percent of its shipments were handled by SmartWay‑certified trucking companies or moved by rail. During some reporting periods, up to 22 percent of all lower‑emission shipments were carried via Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail partners, with Union Pacific rail services scheduled to follow. [citation needed]
While developing Freightera’s emissions‑tracking tools, Beckwitt observed that SmartWay carriers were often both cleaner and less expensive, enabling the marketplace to appeal to cost‑focused shippers while promoting lower‑carbon options. [citation needed] In partnership with Natural Resources Canada, Freightera later reported that 86 percent of its shipments qualified as “low‑emission.” Policy engagement and advocacy
Beckwitt writes and speaks on freight decarbonization, providing data analyses and recommendations to businesses and policymakers. Ideas he outlined in 2016—including the pursuit of zero‑net emissions for cargo shipping and large‑scale electrification of U.S. rail—were echoed in 2018 by the International Maritime Organization and later in Green New Deal proposals before the U.S. Congress. [citation needed] Awards and recognition
Clean50 Award (2019) – Recognized for outstanding contributions to clean capitalism in Canada.
Report on Business magazine “Changemakers” Award (2022) – Honoured for leadership in sustainable freight technology.
Personal life
[edit]Beckwitt is based in Vancouver, Canada. His commitment to reducing freight‑related air pollution intensified after his son developed severe asthma linked to urban air quality. [citation needed]