Nestlé switches three-fourths of trucks to renewable energy

Nestlé said it has switched 75 per cent of its owned fleet of trucks from diesel to Bio-LNG, a liquefied gas which is a byproduct of waste.

The move, part of Nestlé's commitment to be net zero by 2050, will see the group’s food and drink products being delivered around the UK and Ireland by trucks which emit up to 95 per cent less carbon.

Nestlé said it has been exploring solutions to reduce its carbon emissions in its transport and logistics network since 2017. The company chose to switch to Bio-LNG fuel as it is a renewable source of energy suitable for powering trucks around its transport network.

“Running a network to ensure goods are transported around the country in a timely and efficient manner, while reducing our carbon footprint, is a complicated task. Considerations such as the refuelling facilities of Bio-LNG, the weight of the goods the truck carry and the range restrictions of alternate fuels, has meant that every step of the journey needs to be meticulously planned,” Sally Wright, head of delivery at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said.

“We’ve worked with a number of partners in order to make the change and collaboration has been key. We wouldn’t have been able to get these trucks on the road without industry collaboration.”

Nestlé added that its logistics team is currently working with haulage partners as they transition to alternative fuels. Another specific initiative sees Nestlé working collaboratively with customers and other manufacturers to increase the amount of product on each vehicle. Maximising each truck’s delivery capacity will ultimately reduce the number of vehicles on the road and subsequently shrink the company’s carbon footprint.

Over the next two years, the remaining fleet of Nestlé owned trucks at the end of their commercial life will be replaced with trucks using alternative fuels to diesel.

“I am extremely pleased we have been able to make this transition and reveal the new, more sustainable trucks now and look forward even more of them of the road in the near future. I am really proud of the Logistics’ team’s efforts over the last few years to make this happen and would like to thank everyone involved,” said Wright.

Protecting landscape

Nestlé UK and Ireland is also stepping up its plans to protect and restore the British countryside by working with a number of partners through a new landscape model.

Nestlé and sustainability consultancy, 3Keel, have developed the Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) model – an independent mechanism through which businesses with a common interest in protecting the environment work together to protect it.

LENs systematically connects groups of buyers of nature-based solutions (usually habitat restoration, or regenerative farming methods) with groups of land managers who can deliver the work on the ground. It’s structured into regional, self-governing trading networks, and these are being replicated across the country.

Matt Ryan, Regeneration Lead at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: “LENs connects different businesses to land managers, most often farmers, to deliver these programmes which are often centred around water quality, flooding, management of carbon or biodiversity, or air quality.

“It’s about looking at what businesses and the landscapes need to thrive, and about shared interests. Collaboration is at the heart of the LENs model.”

Tom Curtis, founding partner of 3Keel, said: “A critical success factor of LENs is that it’s business-like. The trades we set up deliver tangible value; protecting assets, workforce, and supply chains, and they represent a profit-making opportunity for farmers. Equally critical is that LENs is local. Collaborations, land management solutions, and trades are all organised within the regional economy. That means LENs achieves outcomes that make sense to the communities and ecosystems we operate in.”

Nestlé has an ambition to use its size, scale and reach to play its part in tackling climate change and the food and drink business is investing in regenerative agriculture as almost two-thirds of its emissions come from agriculture.