PepsiCo powers trucks with vegetable oil to reduce emissions

Currently, 40% of the transportation involved in the production and delivery of Walkers crisps is powered by HVO.

The global manufacturer, in collaboration with logistics solutions provider Stobart, will transport Walkers crisps from its Leicester site to retailers using five million litres of HVO. This will fuel more than 11 million miles of UK HGV truck journeys throughout the year.

HVO, derived from used cooking oil, produces significantly less GHG emissions compared to conventional diesel, reducing the environmental impact of these journeys.

The initiative is projected to save the company an additional 13,000 tonnes of GHG emissions by the end of 2024.

PepsiCo UK & Ireland’s sustainability director Simon Devaney said: “Scaling up our use of HVO-powered trucks to transport our Walkers crisps all over the country is a significant further step in our decarbonisation journey.”

Stobart’s chief executive David Pickering said: “This important initiative will help Stobart and PepsiCo to jointly decarbonise their supply chain service.

“We’re now actively working on further initiatives with PepsiCo to continue to accelerate our decarbonisation journey.”

PepsiCo has already replaced diesel with HVO on trucks operating between the Quaker Oats mill in Cupar and Walkers’ Leicester facility, as well as on routes connecting British farms to Leicester.

Currently, 40% of the transportation involved in the production and delivery of Walkers crisps is powered by HVO. PepsiCo estimates that its total HVO-fuelled mileage will reach 14 million miles this year, resulting in a reduction of more than 16,000 tonnes in GHG emissions.

PepsiCo’s overarching climate strategy is to reduce emissions from its direct operations by 75% and its indirect impact by 40% by 2030, building toward a net-zero target set for 2040.

Earlier this month, the global manufacturer confirmed that its beverage plant in the Basque Country in Spain will be its first site to become net-zero emissions in operation by 2025.

The production plant has been sourcing renewable electricity since 2015 and a new €5m electrification project will phase out natural gas to ensure that the plant is running solely on electricity.

Related news: CCEP and Ball Beverage Packaging Trial HVO to Reduce Carbon Footprint (edie.net)

Related case study: Wincanton and Screwfix: Transforming fleet to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – edie

Comments (1)

  1. Richard Phillips says:

    Again, may I comment, as a retired FRIC, that “hydro treated” means “water treated”, hydrolysed.
    The word which should be used here is “hydrogenated”.
    Over sixty years ago I was working on the process of “hydrogenation” of various reagents, at a since defunct chemical works in Ilford, London. It involved heating materials and hydrogen. under pressure, in the presence of a catalyst.
    But history now, just a fairy tale!!

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