Asda cuts fleet emissions by adding 50 duel-fuel vehicles

The new dual-fuel vehicles will run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and diesel and are the latest development in ALS’ transport sustainability strategy following its ‘fewer, cheaper miles’ policy.

Asda has invested in a dedicated LNG refuelling station at the Avonmouth site, which has been designed to minimise environmental impact and costs by the use of ‘zero loss’ refuelling technology.

ALS head of central transport Chris Hall said: “Asda’s investment in the new distribution centre at Avonmouth and the roll-out of the 50 dual-fuel Volvos, is part of a planned programme of initiatives to deliver growth and sustainability by maintaining a 10% absolute carbon footprint reduction by 2015.

“Alternative fuels are an important part of our green agenda. When we take our longer trailer trials into account together with the Volvo dual-fuel trucks, we will be able to increase the volume of goods trunked while at the same time reducing vehicle miles and cutting emissions by 15% over five years,” added Hall.

In addition, Asda is using double-deck artics on store deliveries, which is saving more than 90,000 journeys and £10m per year.

According to Asda, the company’s fleet now travels 18 million fewer road miles a year, compared to 2005, and has made fleet efficiency improvements of 47%, with a new target to increase fleet efficiency by 60% by 2015.

Alongside vehicle initiatives, Asda is also investing in driver training and introducing intelligent ‘driver-style’ technology to improve driver efficiently.

Leigh Stringer