Unilever testing zero-emission refrigerated truck in Netherlands

30 / 09 / 2021

• CSR
• news

Unilever has started a nine-month pilot in the Netherlands to test zero-carbon refrigeration truck – a breakthrough innovation in temperature-controlled transport, with an aim to replace the diesel refrigeration.

The system – which keeps freight chilled at temperatures down to -25°C – will be tested to run entirely on renewable electricity. If successful, the technology could help Unilever lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its ‘cold chain’: the transportation and refrigeration of its products.

If successful, it could save up to 25 tons of CO2 per trailer annually, with air quality benefits for each vehicle equivalent to taking 70 passenger cars off the road for a year.

Its partners in the pilot are equipment service provider TIP Trailer Services, green tech experts Maxwell and Spark, and transport company Daily Logistics Group (DLG).

“With logistics and distribution accounting for around 15% of our emissions, we are moving our cold chain to cleaner sources of energy,” explains Michelle Grose, our Head of Logistics and Fulfilment. “We are partnering with innovators to pioneer new technology and find new solutions. This journey of co-creation will provide us with valuable learnings and insights to help us lower emissions from our vehicle fleet,” said Michelle Grose, Unilever’s Head of Logistics and Fulfillment.

This latest trial is one of several measures Unilever is exploring to reduce emissions in our logistics network as the company works towards its goals of halving the emissions footprint of its products by 2030 and net zero across its value chain by 2039.

Logistics and distribution covers transport from suppliers to factories, factories to distribution centres (DCs) and DCs to customers.

“We achieved our 2020 target of 40% improvement in CO2 efficiency of our global logistics network (against a 2010 baseline) one year ahead of schedule. This was primarily driven by reducing distance travelled and improving truck utilisation, reducing the total number of trucks used.”

While there is more opportunity in this space, the company now needs to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions transport solutions, shifting our focus to ‘greening’ the kilometers we still need to drive.

This is something Unilever will be addressing in several ways including the additional use of railways to reduce demand for long-distance trucking and direct-to-consumer dispatch from its factories to shorten the distance its products need to travel.

It is also exploring hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric vehicles, as well as lower carbon transition fuels such as bio-liquified natural gas and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel which are made from renewable, sustainable raw materials.

“The transport industry will be going through rapid change in the next decade as businesses gear up towards net zero ambitions,” says Mark Rickhoff, Head of Logistics for Unilever Benelux. “This means building new relationships with new types of partners, including equipment providers, OEMs and governments, to advance cleaner transport solutions. There is no silver bullet to achieve zero emissions, the industry needs to work to get there together along many different pathways.”

In line with Unilever’s Carbon Zero Logistics Strategy, It is continuously striving for further emission reduction across all its operations as it works towards net zero by 2039. There are no easy answers for lowering emissions in the cold chain, but the company is determined to take forward steps.

“Over the past few years, we evaluated and tested various solutions but realized that what we required was not on the market,” adds Mark. “That’s why we partnered with others to develop the technology and the set-up we need. I’m proud that Unilever is rising to the challenge and excited to see where this trial takes us in the future.”