United Biscuits crunches emissions with waste cooking oil-fuelled fleet

McVitie's biscuits, Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets are taking greener journeys to retail partners thanks to the extension of a biofuel project from manufacturer United Biscuits, which sees its delivery trucks powered by used cooking oil.


The London-based biscuit and cake manufacturer has ramped up its successful green transport scheme, with 16 of its trucks now operating on duel-fuel systems which generate carbon savings of 97% compared to traditional diesel engines.

United Biscuits’ head of distribution Rob Wright said: “The success of our Biofuel project has surpassed all our expectations and has been inspiring for all those involved, demonstrating the huge potential of power from waste.

“The benefits of recycling waste cooking oil from our food factories is another step along United Biscuits’ green journey, which has already seen us make significant gains in reducing carbon emissions across our logistics business.”

Friendlier Miles

In collaboration with Ultra Biofuel company Convert2Green, United Biscuits recycles 500 tonnes of waste cooking oil per year to fuel its trucks, generatng an overall CO2 saving of 82.5% – the equivalent to removing 1.5 million truck miles from the road.

The move to Ultra Biofuel is part of a series of commitments from United Biscuits to reduce carbon emissions across its logistic operations, which have already seen a total decrease of 43 per cent in CO2 since 2005. This includes the introduction of 62 two-metre longer trailers to the firm’s delivery fleet, operating under an extended Department for Transport trial. These trailers carry 15% more pallets, helping to reduce road miles by 450,000 per year.

Both projects form part of United Biscuits’ ‘Fewer and Friendlier Miles’ campaign, which has effectively removed a total of 30 million truck miles from UK roads since launching in 2005.

The company is also making strides in other areas of its sustainability: in July, the company reported that it had the one-million milestone for a biscuit wrapper recycling project for its McVitie’s brands, through a partnership with TerraCycle. The company has also more than halved its water consumption since 2007

Luke Nicholls

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