Bakery group Greggs has sliced £750,000 off its national fleet running costs since its Scottish division joined the ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme.

The chain’s Edinburgh depot runs 11 refrigerated Euro-6 trucks, which each travel an average 82,876km per year on trunking and store delivery routes across Scotland.

Following recommendations set out in a road map produced by ECO Stars, the Greggs Edinburgh fleet has now achieved the scheme’s top five-star rating and has seen an 11% increase in mpg per vehicle.

Actions included the roll-out of telematics across its entire fleet, as well as focusing on improved driver training, monitoring and targeting to help maintain standards.

Reduced engine idling has also helped to lower fleet emissions through phasing out fridges and in-cab heaters reliant on engine power to operate.

Fridges are now run separately from the main fuel source on red diesel and night heaters have been fitted into each vehicle to reduce the need for idling during cold spells or when the driver is on a break.

Techniques applied at Edinburgh have been applied across Greggs’ national fleet, with overall savings of more than £750,000 due to lower ‘knocks and bumps’ to vehicles, reduced wear and tear and improved MPG.

James McMillan, Greggs of Edinburgh’s transport manager, said: “We are proud to have been awarded the top five-star rating by ECO Stars.

“Having our achievements recognised by this national scheme is very important to us and receiving advice and recommendations to make further improvements will not only help us in Edinburgh, but Greggs nationally,” he added.

ECO Stars is a free-to-join scheme intended to aid operators in lowering their fleet emissions and running costs.

Topics