DP World has launched a new Low Carbon Truck Programme (LCTP) at its London Gateway and Southampton logistics hubs, offering truck operators access to low-carbon fuel in what it describes as a ‘UK industry first’.
The supply chain solutions provider has partnered with fuel providers Certas Energy and New Era Fuels to supply truck operators with low-carbon fuel at the two sites. The fuel provided will be hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable fuel with up to 85% less carbon intensity than diesel.
According to DP World, its London Gateway and Southampton sites see more than 4,000 truck visits per day. Through this new programme, it hopes to support at least 500 trucks to transition to HVO.
The trial will run into 2027 for truck operators that regularly use DP World’s UK ports with fully laden import or export containers. The initiative aims to ‘create a pathway for truck operators to transition to fully electric HGVs, which offer zero emissions at the tailpipe’.
John Trenchard, vice president for sustainable international supply chains at DP World, said: “Cargo owners and freight forwarders can significantly reduce their supply chain Scope 3 emissions if they use trucking companies that participate in the programme.
“This is an innovative first for the container sector and we estimate that more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be reduced each year if all our trucking partners register. Our hope is to encourage early adoption as a transitional step towards the eventual goal of electrification.
“With the forthcoming launch of the new driver welfare facility at Southampton, we’re delighted to be doing more for road hauliers, and we’re confident that the trial will mirror the success of our industry leading Modal Shift and Carbon Inset Programmes.”
A full day, face-to-face carbon literacy training course is included as a foundational part of the programme, which DP World says will support truck operators and supply chain partners in navigating the journey towards lower-carbon supply chains.
Richard Smith, managing director of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), shared his thoughts on the programme: “Hauliers want to reduce their emissions, and our recent Net Zero Survey highlighted how operators see low-carbon fuels achieving this as an interim step to net zero.
“Appropriately-sourced HVO offers a way for them to do this, and we welcome DP World’s Low Carbon Truck Programme – together with the accompanying carbon literacy training – to support hauliers on this journey.”
The Low Carbon Truck Programme will be funded by the Energy Transition Contribution, which is levied on all import laden containers transiting DP World UK port facilities.
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