UK’s Food and Drink Firms to Share Transport

In an attempt to deal with increasing fuel costs and cut carbon emissions caused by transporting food, 37 food and drink companies in the UK have agreed to share transport, revealed The Telegraph.

Asda, Waitrose, Pepsi, Coors, Northern Foods, Nestle and Unilever are some of the companies involved in this initiative. This scheme will help companies save fuel miles by sharing trucks on specific routes.

As a result, an estimated 48 million road miles and 23 million liters of diesel fuel will be saved, in addition to cutting GBP30 million of costs at current prices.

According to food and grocery think tank IGD, which pioneered the initiative, this scheme will take 800 lorries off Britain’s roads in 2008. The companies will also save on haulage, warehousing and vehicle maintenance costs.

A pilot scheme, involving Nestle and United Biscuits, was conducted in 2007. It reportedly saved 16 miles.

Alastair Sykes, Nestle UK’s chief executive and president of IGD, said: “We are determined as an industry to reduce our impact on the environment. At a time when we are dealing with the highest fuel costs in Europe, it is particularly apposite.”