The ‘Green’ Yellow School-Bus Company
Cook-Illinois Corp., a major school-bus contractor and 20-year biodiesel user, won two sustainability awards in 2024.
Cook-Illinois Corp., the sixth-largest school-bus contractor in the U.S. with 2,100 vehicles operating in the Chicagoland area, won two new sustainability awards in 2024. “Biodiesel had a big part in them,” says John Benish Jr., president and chief operating officer of the company.
The National School Transportation Association presented the “Go Yellow, Go Green” Award to Cook-Illinois Corp. at its annual meeting in July 2024. The award recognizes a company leader in student transportation who demonstrates commitment in pursuing positive responses to growing environmental concerns through corporate practice and industry leadership. In addition, Cook-Illinois Corp. was also honored with the “Green Bus Summit Fleet Award” in the regional private-fleet category by School Transportation News in affiliation with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“We are very honored for both,” Benish tells Biobased Diesel™. “We are coming up on our 20th school year using biodiesel in most of our 2,100 vehicles each day, and we are very happy with the proven results.”
Under Benish’s leadership, the company was the first in Illinois to voluntarily switch an entire bus fleet to biodiesel fuel beginning in the early to mid-2000s. Today, all of Cook-Illinois Corp.’s diesel buses use some amount of biodiesel, whether that’s 11 percent (B11), B20 or, in a growing number of cases, B100.
Cook-Illinois Corp. has 11 fueling sites throughout its network and uses biodiesel at all of them. Its buses run 25 million miles a year and Cook Illinois Corp.’s overall vehicle fleet consumes between 1.5 million and 2 million gallons of blended biodiesel annually.
In addition to school buses, Cook-Illinois Corp. operates airport shuttles at Chicago’s Midway International Airport on a 24/7 basis, transporting millions of passengers every year. Those shuttles only use B20 or higher.
Nearly five years ago, Cook Illinois Corp. began trialing B100 in a select number of buses. Benish says the company first got involved with the B100 project with help from Bailey Arnold, program lead for the B20 Club of Illinois, through Cook-Illinois Corp.’s membership in the B20 Club. The B20 Club recognizes a select group of Illinois-based organizations with strong commitments to run fleets on biodiesel blends of 20 percent or greater. The B100 project also involves Chevron Renewable Energy Group, the nation’s largest biodiesel producer, and Optimus Technologies, manufacturer of the Vector System— an advanced fuel-system technology that can upgrade any medium- or heavy-duty diesel engine to run on 100 percent biodiesel, even in cold Midwestern winters.
The B100 project began with five school buses, which Benish says was a success. In mid-2023, the company worked to add three additional units. In December 2024, Benish tells Biobased Diesel™ that the project has been such a success that Cook-Illinois Corp. is currently adding another five B100 buses to its fleet. “We have had a good experience with this so far,” he says. Benish says being a member of the B20 Club has been a great assist in providing opportunities for Cook-Illinois Corp. to use more biodiesel. “We continue to work very closely with Bailey and his team,” Benish says. “We have encouraged many more bus companies like ourselves to use some type of biobased fuel.”
In January 2022, Benish was named a “Bio Ambassador” by the United Soybean Board for his commitment to biodiesel. The Bio Ambassador program is operated by USB and funded with soybean checkoff dollars. As a Bio Ambassador, Benish volunteers his time to share with other fleet leaders how soy-derived biobased products contribute to the sustainability of vehicle fleets. Benish says it’s not hard to sell people on the clean-air, performance and sustainability benefits of biodiesel. “Biodiesel sells itself,” he says.
Author: Ron Kotrba
Editor, Biobased Diesel™
218-745-8347
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