Eco-delivery options bring products to your stores without harming the earth

These days, companies and businesses across the world are turning a critical eye toward becoming more environmentally friendly, particularly as products move from cradle to grave through the supply chain.

In January 2008, grocery store chain Safeway Inc converted its entire US truck fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles to run on B20 biodiesel fuel made from soybean oil, which the company estimates will reduce its fleet’s carbon di-oxide emissions by 75 million pounds each year.

Even smaller companies are making a difference by taking a look at the way they make deliveries. In 2007, Manhattan Beer Distributors in New York, which operates a fleet of more than 500 trucks, vans, sedans and forklifts, converted a portion of its diesel fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG).

The programme, which was partially funded by a $1.6m grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will displace roughly 108,000 gallons of petroleum per year for a decade. “It’s just the right thing to do,” said Mike McCarthy, Manhattan Beer Distributor’s vice president, in a company statement.

Doing more with less

At retail, convenience operators can reduce their impact on the environment by asking their distributors to become more eco-conscious about the way goods are delivered to their stores, or by finding a distributor that offers greener delivery methods. One such company, Corporate Courier Inc, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, works with vendors to consolidate transportation of goods along delivery routes.

“I think greener delivery methods can make a huge difference,” said Terry Knutson, owner and president of Corporate Courier. “Instead of having four vendors with their separate trucks on the road, you have one truck, which makes the delivery routes much more efficient.”

Consolidating deliveries can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing fuel consumption.

In the small town of Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin, Corporate Courier is taking 1.5 million gallons of diesel off the roads over a 10-year period.

“That’s a lot of pollutants that are not getting into the environment,” said Knutson.

In addition, the company mostly uses Sprinter vans, a diesel delivery vehicle that gets up to 25 miles per gallon — much higher than the typical diesel delivery trucks that get seven miles per gallon. “Especially in rural settings, where you don’t need the capacity of a bigger truck, we’re able to use these Sprinter vans, which save a ton of natural resources,” said Knutson.

Doing less with more

Coca-Cola has launched several green initiatives, including efforts to reduce its absolute CO2 manufacturing emissions and adding hybrid electric technology to its fleet. But one of Coke’s eco- friendly methods — delivering more product less often — created a different problem for Jeff Miller, president of Miller Oil Company in Norfolk, Virginia.

“Coke clearly is dedicated to this whole green initiative — it shows in all that they’ve done,” said Miller. “But especially for our low-volume Miller Neighborhood Markets, having fewer deliveries means holding more stock, which is difficult because [the stores] don’t have a lot of space.”

Miller agreed that consolidating deliveries is an eco-friendly initiative, but to truly have an impact on reducing carbon output, “you have to take a serious look at going to wholesale delivery in order to consolidate deliveries, instead of just making retailers carry more inventory,” he said.

Consolidating deliveries can also help retailers better manage their inventory. “It’s terribly inefficient to have a month’s worth of soda in your cooler,” said Miller. “Multiply that by multiple stores and it adds up. It’s really a dollar-and-cents issue and a space issue.”

Jump into the pool

So instead of creating a situation that overflows the inventory, Miller advocates fewer deliveries more frequently.

“Pooling deliveries reduces the number of trucks on the road, the product gets to the store on the schedule that we need it to, we’re not carrying too much inventory and it works for everyone,” he said.

Miller Neighborhood Markets encouraged its vendor, JT Davenport, to be more eco-friendly. “We told them that we’ll commit to buying x amount of products, but we want them to deliver it to our wholesaler. We pay the up charge for our wholesaler to deliver it to us,” said Miller. “This gets us the products we want, gives the wholesaler the ability to sell it in the quantities that it wants, and it increases the efficiency of our grocery wholesaler, which brings a fuller truck to our stores.”

As retailers and suppliers embark on green initiatives, enough options exist to achieve a win-win for the entire industry. According to Miller, “It’s worth taking the time to pursue that end, as opposed to just doing something because it’s the environmental thing to do right now. Because if it’s well thought out and it’s a win for everybody, it will last long after being green goes out of vogue.”

Sarah Hamaker, a freelance writer from Fairfax, Virginia, combines errands in a small effort to be more “green” herself.

This article first appeared in NACS magazine. For more information or to subscribe please visit www.nacsmagazine.com