About 124 million lorry miles have been taken off UK roads as part of a sustainable distribution initiative – a year earlier than originally planned, according to the Institute of Grocery Distribution.
It says the saving, achieved through the ECR UK initiative, is the equivalent of removing 2,000 lorries from Britain’s roads and saving 60 million litres of diesel fuel a year.
The initiative now includes 40 household retailer and manufacturer brands. The road miles saved have been generated through a mix of best practice internal projects and external partnerships between retailers and suppliers. Examples include the use of double-deck vehicles and the sharing of lorries to deliver grocery products.
Chris Tyas, business services and group supply chain director UK & Ireland at Nestlé, said: “One quarter of lorries on our roads are still estimated to be running empty on their way back from delivering goods. This offers huge scope for more companies of all sizes to implement similar activities, potentially saving millions more road miles in the UK.
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“ECR UK continues to be the collaborative forum helping companies to secure high performance from its operations. Despite the recessionary environment we have seen companies come together to collaborate and make a real difference to the environment.”
IGD chief Joanne Denney-Finch said: “This innovative and efficient way of working could shape the way we transport food and grocery items in the future.”
Participating Companies:
Advantage West Midlands
Boots UK
ASDA Stores
British Sugar
Bacardi-Martini
Booker Group
Brakes
Cadbury
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Colgate Palmolive
Compass Group
Dairy Crest Group
Gerber Juice Company
Greencore Group
GSI UK
H J Heinz Co
Iceland Foods
Kellogg
Kimberly-Clark
Kraft Foods
L’Oreal
Marks & Spencer
Mars
Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK)
Muller Dairy (UK)
Musgrave Group
Nestlé UK
Northern Foods
Palmer & Harvey McLane
Pepsico UK & Ireland
Premier Foods Group
Procter & Gamble UK
Reckitt Benckiser
Robert Wiseman Dairies
Sainsbury’s
Tate & Lyle
Tesco Stores
The Co-operative Group (including Somerfield)
Unilever
United Biscuits (UK)
Waitrose
Wm Morrison Supermarkets
Wrigleys
