The manufacturers of Nestlé Cereals, Cereal Partners UK (CPUK), have invested in their first electric truck as they continue to work towards their commitment of being net zero by 2050.
The new Electric Heavy Goods Vehicle, a Volvo FM Battery Electric, will be based at CPUK's factory in Staverton, Wiltshire and will primarily be used to transport the company's brands, Shredded Wheat and Shreddies, to its distribution centre in Melksham.
Additionally, the electric vehicle will be used to deliver CPUK's entire portfolio, which also includes Cheerios, Nesquik and GoFree Cereal, from the Melksham distribution centre to customers in the surrounding areas and to move pallets around the Staverton site.
The new e-truck has been in operation since December and is already proving to be less disruptive when making deliveries in the local area, creating less noise and fewer emissions. CPUK has also invested in a 160kW DC Electric Vehicle charger at its distribution centre, allowing the e-truck to be recharged in just two hours.
Since the e-truck became operational last year, CPUK has monitored its performance to understand its maximum delivery radius capacity.
This investment is just one of many ways CPUK is feeding into the wider Nestlé UK and Ireland commitments of halving its emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. CPUK is aligned with these two goals and committed to a 20 percent reduction in its emissions by 2025, which it is set to achieve this year.
The cereal maker is achieving these milestones in line with its net-zero roadmaps for logistics, which contains several stages of transformation, including full implementation of LED lighting in its warehouses, resulting in a 23 percent reduction in energy usage vs 2021. CPUK is also exploring options for intermodal transportation for imported goods following the implementation of short-sea solutions and improvements in vehicle capacity utilisation.
Nestlé UK and Ireland have also launched bio LNG trucks and begun trials on moving products by rail containers and electric shunters in the last year.
More broadly, CPUK has been transforming the way it works, and in addition to how it makes and delivers its products, it is also starting to focus on how it sources its ingredients. In 2022, CPUK launched the Nestlé Wheat Plan – an innovative sustainable farming initiative that forms partnerships with British wheat farmers to support adopting regenerative agriculture practices.
Patryk Zmaczyński, head of supply chain and procurement, said as CPUK continues to evolve its operations to be more sustainable, the purchase of its first electric truck marks a notable landmark in its aim of being net zero by 2050.
"We have been early adopters of electric vehicles and continue to invest significantly in the technology. The investment in the vehicle and charging point will enable us to start to deliver our much-loved brands to our customers in a way that has a reduced impact on the environment," said Zmaczyński.
