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Click on a category on the right to read a summary of the case studies in that area
Transportation
A retailer's influence on transportation starts with the movement of goods throughout the supply chain, and ends when the customer travels to the store to buy the products and takes them home. Transportation is an important area to consider from both an environmental and a cost-reduction standpoint. Transport accounts for 14 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Major cost savings can be achieved through transportation initiatives. In fact, for some strategies, such as routing and scheduling changes, payback is immediate because they are no- or low-cost measures. Breadth of Practice The following table summarizes the types of practices found in the Greening Retail best practice database that pertain to transportation and includes the number of companies for which this practice is described in the database.
If the Greening Retail database is any indication, the most widely-practised techniques for reducing the fuel costs of transportation among retailers are in the area of logistics. The database includes 27 examples of companies that have undertaken at least one measure in the area of transportation logistics. Logistical practices include the use of backhauling (trucks or trains take loads in both directions); paying attention to load size; reducing the weight of packaging; placing distribution centres strategically; and using routing and scheduling technologies to maximize efficiencies. Fleet vehicles are chosen for their fuel efficiencies, either through advanced technologies, or by purchasing the right size of vehicle for the vehicle's purpose. Retailers may also reduce fuel use through teaching fuel-saving driving techniques to their vehicle operators. Another way to reduce the environmental impact of a company's transportation activities is to use cleaner fuels: these include biodiesel, electric, and liquefied natural gas. In two of our case studies, the retailer has outsourced the transportation of their goods to independent haulers, but have stipulated that the haulers include environmental measures in their practices. Retailers are also looking to other modes of transportation besides road vehicles to reduce environmental impact, including rail and ship. Many of the trips involving these alternatives utilize more than one mode, combining ships, railroads and trucks to move goods. Delivering goods to consumers is also a consideration, and one forward-thinking retailer has begun a pilot project to use bicycles for this. Some retailers are also concerned about employee transportation?both for commuting to work (four case studies) and for business travel (one case study). Finally, progressive retailers are looking for ways that travel by their customers can have fewer negative effects, most often by locating stores in areas well-served by public transit. Two of the case studies in the "transportation" category of our best practices database give examples of how retailers have endeavoured to reduce the transportation ecological footprint of their store patrons. Logistics As noted above, logistics is the most frequent area for improving transportation efficiency in the Greening Retail Best Practices Database. Logistical practices include the use of backhauling (trucks or trains take loads in both directions); paying attention to load size; reducing the weight of packaging; placing distribution centres strategically; and using routing and scheduling technologies to maximize efficiencies. Backhauling In backhauling, goods are gathered from a dispatch point immediately after a delivery so that the vehicles rarely travel without a load. For example, at ASDA, lorries that deliver products to its stores backhaul excess waste like cardboard and plastic, ensuring additional empty containers do not clog up the roads. ASDA calculated that it will save 9 million road miles a year by reducing empty running between their stores and their Distribution Centres through wide-ranging collaboration with their suppliers and with other transport operators. Morrisons is also increasing back-haul pallet volumes. Hbc is eliminating the movement of empty trailers; they identified an opportunity to find partners that need to ship goods in the opposite direction where trucks or train containers would otherwise be shipped back empty. As well, at H-E-B, all trucks take backhauls from the stores, bringing recycling back to the warehouses and often also fixturing and construction materials. Load Size Related to backhauling is optimizing the size of a vehicle's load. For example, despite the growth of the number of stores, HEMA was able to keep the number of kilometres on the same level by restricting the number of ordering moments and by raising the degree of load on the trucks. The degree of load rose from 78 percent to 91 percent in 2004. Every year the HEMA-trucks drive more than four million kilometres for supplying the stores. In 2001 MGL saved a total of 60 million tonne-kilometers through pooling goods transported by truck, a reduction of 20 per cent compared to the previous year. Packaging There are two examples in our database of how packaging affects transportation costs and also environmental impacts. At IKEA, product packaging and transportation are planned for during the early stages of the design process. Thoughtful design and flat packaging help them squeeze more products into every load-carrying unit, whether by ship, truck or train. As well, Office Depot is planning to begin using plastic shipping pallets as an alternative to wood pallets?a strategy that is also forecast to save money and reduce fuel consumption by taking better advantage of space on trucks and in trailers. Distribution Logistics Because every retailer is different, the ideal logistics for distributing their goods will vary depending on the company. At ASDA , 2.5 million road miles are being saved each year thanks to their Import Centre at Teesport which is closer to their Distribution Centres and stores than the ports in the Southeast. ASDA's Lamb Link scheme ensures lambs are collected directly from farms and farmers paid within 48 hours, saving time, hassle and money for farmers. The scheme has saved 1.4m road miles each year. Also, ASDA has eight regional food hubs around the country which give small fine food producers access to 12 million customers a week. The hubs enable local producers to deliver their products to one central point, cutting food miles and reducing their costs. A recent pilot project that showed it could be more economical and more environment-friendly for Coop to pick up its goods themselves rather than having their producers deliver these by truck to its distribution centre. Waitrose is also experimenting with trials that allow local suppliers to deliver directly to shops, such as growers involved in its 'local food' initiative in Kent. Waitrose has around 220 local product lines delivered in this way and is currently evaluating the success of these initiatives, and measuring the beneficial effect on food miles. The goal of the Swedish logistics department ICA is to be the best in the Nordic region in retail logistics, and a new logistics structure will be completed in 2008. Many products, such as dairy, meats and carbonated beverages are currently distributed directly from suppliers to stores. With the new structure, more products will be distributed to stores via ICA's warehouses and wil reduce total vehicle emissions from transports to Swedish ICA stores by approximately 20 percent. Routing and Scheduling Technologies such as Global Positioning Sytsem (GPS) can help plan efficient routes and schedules. Various software programs are available to retailers for this purpose. For example, for the Comet Group, the use of state-of-the-art routing and scheduling technology decreases distances traveled. Canadian Tire also maximizes product delivery efficiency by using automated route optimization software. Hbc is applying technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS), which helps to monitor idling time and speed, and to determine the shortest routes everywhere in North America. An important way in which Office Depot has cut costs and fuel consumption is by using Roadnet Transportation technology for customer deliveries. This software is used to arrange delivery routes in order to maximize the number of packages on each route while minimizing the distance traveled and time. They can now deliver 180 to 200 packages per truck within the same number of miles, enabling them to put 30 per cent to 50 per cent fewer trucks on the road while getting better fuel economy and lower carbon emissions. Thanks to IT-supported route planning for the REWE Group, the efficiency of shipments is constantly optimised to achieve vehicle load rates of over 90 per cent. These methods allow REWE to achieve long-term fuel savings of around five per cent. By improving routing, eliminating deadhead backhauling and optimizing loads, Nature & Découvertes achieved remarkable results. Between 2000 and 2004, transport kilometres dropped by 22 per cent in spite of increased stores by 20 per cent and increased tonnage of almost 30 per cent. Between 2000 and 2004, transport kilometres dropped by 22 per cent in spite of increased stores by 20 per cent and increased tonnage of almost 30 per cent. An efficient logistics concept reduces truck travel for the supply of the markets to a minimum. Therefore OBI created the company BM-Logistik. Compared to 1999 the delivering travel could be reduced by systematic bundling of the goods stream to the OBI markets by 57 per cent. Thus 100,000 tons of CO2 a year are saved. Business Depot (Staples) is switching half of its truck drivers from five eight-hour days to four 10-hour days, which allows drivers to deliver more freight in a day. The trucks go out "two hours fuller" and deliver more while covering fewer miles with fewer trucks on the road. "It's a successful program that doesn't cost a thing," says Mike Payette, fleet equipment manager for Staples. Company Fleet Alternative Fuels Strides are being made in developing fuels that are less damaging to the environment. When choosing alternatives, for their company fleets, retailers must look at the full lifecycle of the fuel - from the production of the fuel to the emissions created when propelling their company fleet. Biodiesel: Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils or animal fats. According to Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency, (http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/biodiesel-benefits.cfm?attr=8) tailpipe GHG emissions are only slightly lower using biodiesel over petrodiesel. However, over its life cycle, pure biodiesel produces 60 to 100 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared with petroleum diesel, depending on what oil or fat is used. As well, by turning waste products into biodiesel, they are kept out of landfill sites where they might have produced methane gas. Safeway supermarket plans to become the first major retailer in the US to convert its entire fleet of delivery trucks to the use of biodiesel fuels. As well, Tesco has a 25 per cent stake in the renewable fuel company, Greenenergy, which produces fuel oil from waste oil and renewable sources such as rapeseed oil. There have been trials in the use of Greenenergy biodiesel for their customers at Hatfield store and for trucks from the Thurrock distribution centre. Waitrose has started a six-month trial that will see five of its lorries powered by rapeseed oil in what it says is the first such move by a major supermarket. Electric: Depending on the origin of the electricity used to charge the batteries, battery-electric vehicles can have low GHG emissions over their lifecycle. Office Depot has achieved their target of using 100 per cent battery-operated forklifts in their distribution centers. Marks & Spencer has ordered their first electric truck, which will be used for food deliveries to their Covent Garden store in London this summer. Tesco.com is to be the first company in the UK to run a fleet of battery powered home delivery vans. As well, Sainsbury's has picked up an innovation award from the Energy Saving Trust for its use of electric vehicles for home delivery. The supermarket will have 20 per cent of all urban home-shopping delivery vans electric by September 2008 and wants the whole fleet of around 100 vehicles electric by 2010. Liquid Natural Gas (LNG):According to Natural Resources Canada, natural gas burns more cleanly than gasoline or diesel fuel and produces fewer toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. At H-E-B, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is used for 42 trucks, and the company has their own fuelling station. Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Leading retailers are setting goals for greater fuel-efficiency in their vehicles. For example, for Wal-Mart to reach their overall commitment to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent compared to doing nothing, they plan to double new truck fuel efficiency, from 6.5 to 13 miles per gallon, by 2015. They currently have over 100 hybrid vehicles in operation and have requested another 100 for 2007. At The Comet Group plc, they use aerodynamic technology to reduce drag and increase MPG performance on all new vehicles. They expect they will produce net savings of at least $494 million a year by 2020, and more in later years. PC World has designed a new delivery lorry shaped like a computer mouse. The retailer claims the new shape of the lorries makes them more aerodynamic and therefore more fuel-efficient. By the end of 2007, 25 per cent of ASDA's trucks will be fitted with automatic gearboxes and the latest euro 4/5 clean engine technology, significantly improving both fuel efficiency and carbon emissions. By the end of 2010 this will be 100 per cent of ASDA's trucks. Morrisons is introducing vehicles with cleaner Euro5 engines into their fleet, rather than the currently required Euro4 and well ahead of these engines becoming a requirement in 2009. Using the Right Size of Vehicle: Using a smaller vehicle often saves fuel. For example, over the past several years, Office Depot has been replacing its oversized diesel-powered delivery "box trucks" with Sprinter cargo vans. Sprinter cargo vans essentially have twice the fuel efficiency of their predecessors, an estimated 15 or more miles per gallon. On the other hand, The Comet Group introduced more double-decked trailers, increasing the volume of product that can be moved and therefore reducing the number of trips required. Likewise, Coop uses larger trucks to reduce fuel consumption per tonne. Canadian Tire optimized the amount of product shipped per unit by converting their trailer fleet from 48 foot to 53 foot. This increases the per unit capacity by 12 per cent. ASDA has purchased a fleet of double-deck trailers which will save 2 million road miles per year. Boots also expanded their double deck trailer fleet from 16 to 41 vehicles, saving around 3,100 tonnes of CO2 and 5.25 million kilometres per year. Vehicle Maintenance: Performing vehicle maintenance not only saves gas money, but it also improves a vehicle's safety and dependability. Among other fuel-saving actions, Morrisons, holds to rigorous maintenance schedules for their vehicles. This is in addition to engineering developments and fuel efficiency programmes, and driver training. Driving Techniques Because drivers also have an influence on fuel consumption, truck drivers at the REWE Group have received training in progressive and fuel-saving driving methods at individual fleet bases for several years now. These methods allow REWE to achieve long-term fuel savings of around five per cent. As well, Coop plans to hold training courses in energy-efficient driving techniques (Eco Drive) for their drivers. Staples implemented a central computer system that allows Payette to limit the top speed of its fleet to 60 miles per hour. That yielded a 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption?the annual equivalent of 40,000 gallons of diesel and roughly 6,000 tons of carbon emission. Transportation Partnerships Several years ago, H-E-B became one of the 15 charter members of the SmartWay Transportation Partnership, which was created by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Partnership has developed a tool whereby one can input information, such as the number of trucks and tire size, and it calculates energy use. More importantly, the tool describes various strategies, technologies and maintenance activities that freight carriers can implement to improve fuel efficiencies. It calculates the potential savings and rate of ROI based on the fleet size and related inputs by the freight carrier. H-E-B has reduced their use of diesel fuel by over 4.7 million gallons each year and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 30 per cent annually. That's the equivalent of removing 10,678 passenger cars off the road each year. Monitoring Out-Sourced Haulers ICA Sverige has outsourced all transports to independent haulers. When agreements are signed with haulers, it is noted that environmental requirements and monitoring will be at least as stringent as before. As a means to further increase SmartWay participation by their carriers, The Home Depot is now including an environmental clause in transportation-related contracts and RFPs. The Home Depot's leadership role in this partnership not only helps to improve our transportation efficiency, but also serves as an example to inspire involvement from other large corporations. Railroad According to the Association of American Railroads, railroads are three or more times more fuel efficient than trucks.* Diverting freight traffic to railroads also helps to relieve gridlock on the highways. At ASDA, for instance, the use of rail freight has reduced road miles by five per cent (4.5 million miles) since 2003. According to ASDA, it is the leading supermarket for using rail within its distribution operations, and has taken 22 million miles off the roads since 2002 by switching long distance freight movements to rail. Tesco signed a £15m deal with transport and logistics group Stobart to provide a second dedicated rail freight service in Scotland. It will run six days a week and replace more than 13,000 lorry journeys each year?equivalent to 1.79 million lorry miles and taking 5.3 million tonnes of freight off the road. The contract will run for an initial five years. Scottish Government grants totalling nearly £1m will help Stobart purchase 70 new containers to move Tesco's goods. Water transportation includes ocean-going vessels and inland boats. The availability of this mode of transport will vary depending on the nearness of available ports, waterways, and other facilities to a retailers' stores and distribution centres. ICA, in Sweden and Norway, tries, whenever possible, to handle long-distance transports by boat all the way to its warehouses. Non-food products from China, for example, were previously unloaded onto trucks in Göteborg, but today are shipped directly by boat to the central warehouse in Västerås. Intermodal Transportation The movement of goods off-road most often involves multiple modes of transportation. Many retailers are looking at how to optimize their transportation operations using the most efficient modes available. For example, Office Depot saved approximately 1.25 million gallons of fuel in 2006 by using inter-modal transportation - combining ships, railroads and trucks - instead of strictly utilizing over-the-road transportation. As well, through the use of intermodal shipping, Home Depot's logistics company, the Hub Group delivers cabinetry products on-time and intact. The annual reductions and savings estimates are 1 million gallons of diesel; 11,000 tons CO2, 263 tons NOx, and 8 tons PM. The German retailer Otto Versand developed new logistics chains (i.e., contracts with shipping and delivery agents) and analysis methods to determine which shipping option has the least environmental impacts. For example, when possible, goods are transported by ship and train rather than truck, or truck rather than air. This reduces costs and increases profits as well as providing environmental benefits. As a result, the company:
Bicycle Delivery Human-propelled transportation, like cycling, offers multiple benefits. Waitrose, the UK supermarket chain, began trialling a bicycle delivery service for customers who order their groceries online. In a move to increase the amount of delivery slots on offer while reducing the number of its vans on the road, Waitrose staff will be riding hybrid pedal/electric bikes towing a custom trailer attached capable of holding six trays of groceries including frozen grub. Transportation of Employees Transportation of employees includes both commuting to and from work and travel between work locations. An employee trip reduction program addresses both of these areas. For example, J. Sainsbury uses Green Travel Plans, which encourage colleagues to use public transport to travel to work. Some of these plans also aim to increase travel options for customers; for example by displaying timetable and bus information at their stores. IKEA encourages co-workers to use public transport, to share cars to and from work, or to cycle in order to reduce journeys by car. JCPenney established a RideShare Program in 1993, and prime parking spaces are reserved for RideShare participants. ICA has adopted a detailed policy that encourages the Group's employees to use telephone and video conferencing whenever possible. Train travel by ICA employees during the year avoided 260 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere as compared to their having traveled by car. Transportation of Customers To round out their transportation initiatives, a retailer will examine how best to encourage their customers to reduce the environmental impact of their shopping trips to their stores. Over half of Sainsbury's stores are in or on the edge of towns that generally already have good public transport links, but they work with local authorities to ensure that, where this is not the case, they optimise the public transport links to theirr stores and manage traffic flows. Similarly, as a general rule, IKEA endeavours to locate its stores in areas served by efficient public transport. Some IKEA stores have their own shuttle bus service to and from public transit stops. One of lululemon's policies is that retail stores are sited to be accessible by public transit, so employees and customers have several transportation options. Employees can also cycle or walk to work as alternatives. Catering to those taking alternatives to single-occupancy driving involves practices such as providing a pedestrian-friendly site plan with a continuous walkway from the street to the door, and convenient bike parking. For example, Target erects bicycle stands at some stores, and in at least one case, they provide covered bike parking. This synopsis was compiled from case studies in the Greening Retail Best Practice Database. Sources for the information in the case studies are cited in the database. This database contains links to case studies of environmental best practice from retailers around the world. You can search this database by the name of the company only, or you can find case studies that match one or several specific criteria, such as the type of retailer, the type of best practice, the company's country of origin, and/or project return on investment. Simply select your search criteria in the spaces provided and hit the "search" button to come up with a list of the kinds of case studies you're looking for. Please note that we cannot include all the practices of every retailer; therefore, the non-inclusion of a company, or of a certain area of practice for a company, does not mean that they do not presently have progressive environmental initiatives in these areas. If you would like to submit a case study to be added to the database,
please contact greeningretail@trca.on.ca.
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