EV Cargo slashes emissions by almost a third in 2022

Supply chain services giant EV Cargo saw its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions plummet by 29% in 2022, reinforcing its 2030 pledge to attain carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions and reduce scope 3 emissions by 25%, by 2030.

These latest figures are revealed in the company’s second annual Sustainability Report, which outlines a range of initiatives the company is using to help decarbonise its own and its global customer supply chains.

One such initiative is its partnership with AB InBev, which has seen HVO biodiesel replace traditional diesel, resulting in a 90% reduction in associated vehicle emissions. Other strategies delivered by the partnership include co-loading of sea freight shipments, twinning of containers and switching freight to rail reduced transportation costs by $7.9m while saving 19,995 tCO2e.

The report also highlights EV Cargo’s use of the UK FMCG industry’s first all-electric, zero-emission HGV, a DAF CF electric 4x2 tractor (pictured), with wine packaging giant The Park, which supplies around 25% of all wine sold in the UK to customers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi.

EV Cargo said the DAF CF electric truck will reduce the company’s carbon footprint by saving around 17,500 litres of diesel per year and 47,347 kg of CO2e, as well as 651 kg of nitrous oxide (N2O), among other air pollutants.

The report also features the company’s Fewer Miles strategy which aims for a more efficient network by moving the same volume of freight for EV Cargo’s customers but using fewer miles to do so by using double deck trailers and high cube containers, minimising empty and unplanned miles, maximising cargo density through packaging design and compliance and maximising modal switch to rail and water, wherever possible.

EV Cargo has also made progress on its diversity, equity and inclusivity strategies, the report revealed. Based on the UN Women International Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) Gender Gap Analysis Tool, which assesses gender equality performance across the group, EV Cargo increased its score from 29% in 2021 to 71% in 2022, which the report said “significantly” outperforms industry peers.

Dr Virginia Alzina, EV Cargo’s chief sustainability officer, leads the company’s sustainability initiatives across four focus areas: planet, people, governance and value creation and she attended COP27 during 2022 to give details of its sustainability strategy and present its decarbonisation roadmap.

The report also highlights EV Cargo’s success in winning the Sustainable Transport category at the Motor Transport Awards for its industry-leading efforts to build an environmental, operational and financially sustainable business.

Its submission stood out as a result of its work around embedding ESG principles and initiatives across the business, from emissions reduction and comprehensive staff training to prioritising health and safety, employee wellbeing, staff development, retention and training playing a critical role in securing the accolade.

Other recent awards include a Merit at the 2023 International Safety Awards, and subsidiary Palletforce’s RoSPA Gold award which it secured for the 14th consecutive year.

Dr Virginia Alzina, EV Cargo’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said: “We are rightly proud of the collective achievements highlighted in our 2022 Sustainability Report.

“Our decarbonisation efforts have delivered significant GHG reductions and allow us to remain on course to meet our net zero targets, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. We are also working towards a healthy and safe environment for our people to thrive and creating value for our clients through improved processes and products.

“Sustainability engagement and initiatives are led from the top of the business and are underpinned by a robust governance structure, with our Main Board Sustainability Committee actively involved in sustainability matters.”