Goal: Increase the efficiency of transporting our products, and address employee and customer travel, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions while achieving customer satisfaction and business growth.
The Group's main transport impact is from the transport of products for sale in store. Road transport is the backbone of the business and the majority of this is between depot and store. Increasingly, in the UK, products are transported by Sainsbury's for suppliers where efficiencies can be generated. This involves the combustion of fossil fuels resulting in various emissions, including CO2.
We recognise the need to reduce our transport impacts on air quality and global warming, to continually improve the efficiency of the supply chain thereby reducing emissions including CO2. Ways to achieving this include reducing the number of kilometres travelled per product sold, increasing the vehicle fill and reducing the emissions per kilometre through engine efficiency, alternative fuels and alternative modes of transport.
Transport Programme
Sainsbury's Supermarkets initiates the majority of product transportation in the Group. The challenge is to operate the Group's transport systems efficiently and to pursue ways to cost effectively reduce its environmental impact while the business continues to increase the amount sold.
Reducing km/product delivered
Sainsbury's Supermarkets has established a National Transport Service Centre (NTSC) to optimise the effectiveness of its transport operations. This is leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness enabling Sainsbury's Supermarkets to make substantial cost savings and reduce vehicle usage and kilometres travelled.
The NTSC presents opportunities for reductions in total lorry distance through the better planning of vehicle movements whilst optimising lorry fill. In this respect, where it is beneficial it organises collections of products from suppliers using Sainsbury's own fleet, thus reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. In a typical week some 8-900 such collections may take place.
Reducing emissions/km
CNG has been trialled in Sainsbury's Supermarkets lorries. Unfortunately it cannot be operated reliably currently, and Sainsbury's has asked manufacturers and fleet providers to meet this reliability challenge.
We conducted a trial on biodiesel using 20 vehicles. Despite some concerns from the fleet vehicle owners, the trial produced no adverse comments on vehicle running or maintenance and consideration is being given to moving onto a larger trial as well as using used cooking oil within the biodiesel mix.
Rail freight has been used but poor reliability and service levels currently prevent this. The company continues to take every opportunity to raise the issue of rail infrastructure with Government and other groups.
The lorry fleet is gradually being renewed, and the opportunity is being taken to use more efficient engines.
Carbon Dioxide generated from Sainsbury's Supermarkets and Shaw's Transport
(Total Tonnes CO2)
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Shaw's refrigeration (reefer) trucks |
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Shaw's HGV deliveries |
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Sainsbury's refrigeration units & depot vehicles |
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Sainsbury's HGV deliveries |
Notes to Graph
Sainsbury's Supermarkets data
For 2000/01 onwards improvements have been made to data collection for CO2 figures from Sainsbury's Supermarkets' Heavy Goods Vehicles. The bulk of data are taken from actual fuel usage, and accounts data of distance travelled although extrapolations have been made for any missing data. In previous years CO2 was calculated from litres derived from distance travelled, mpg and estimates.
- Conversion factors 1997/98 and 1998/99:
- HGVs: Standard diesel 2.82kg CO2/litre [Source: Freight Transport Association].
- HGVs: Sainsbury's Ultra Low Sulphur City Diesel 2.57kg CO2/litre [Source: Greenergy].
- Other years conversion factors from the DETR Environment Reporting Guidelines (1999):
- Diesel (including Ultra Low Sulphur) 2.68kg CO2/litre.
CO2 figures for Sainsbury's Supermarkets HGV fleet include Sainsbury's Supermarkets owned and contractor fleets in distribution systems operating mainly between depot and store.
Company car data have been removed from these charts for all years. This has been done as company cars represented around 6.7% of CO2 emissions in 1999/2000 and our main targets cover HGVs only.
Shaw's data
For 2001/02 data refer to the period 1 March 2001 to 28 February 2002.
CO2 emissions for 2000/01 relate to the period 1 January to 31 December 2000, include emissions from refrigeration (reefer) vehicles, but exclude deliveries to Grand Union stores. For U.S. data purposes, 1 ton equals 2000 lbs.
Conversion factors used are DETR Environmental Reporting Guidelines 1999 (see above), as Shaw's use low sulphur diesel.
Shaw's data are derived from their distribution software which collects fuel usage and efficiency data. Contracted miles are based on estimated mileage and fuel consumption.
Overall Performance
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Performance
Again this year, we have delivered significant improvements in our supply chain, both in routing, in flexibility of delivery and in vehicle fill. We have been able to reduce the number of vehicles we put on the road, while still delivering the goods to our stores. We have therefore achieved a reduction in mileage travelled of 3.9% while delivering an extra 2.8% to our stores. This has resulted in a reduction in the CO2 emitted by our vehicles of 6.2%.
During the year we continued to fit continuous regenerative traps to our vehicles exhausts and now 10% of the fleet is so fitted. This pollution reducing technology reduces the emissions of carbon monoxide by 98%, particulates by 95%, and hydrocarbons by 87% as well as making useful reductions to NOx and CO2.
Shaw's Performance
We have managed to reduce CO2 emissions by 8.6% during the year, simply by doing things more efficiently. We have seen reductions in mileage travelled and the introduction of new equipment within the supply chain, which has improved fuel consumption. The reduction in mileage has been helped by repositioning drivers following the closure of the East Bridgewater warehouse, the move of cross-dock facilities between depots and further measures designed to improve vehicle loading.
© J Sainsbury plc 2003