Sainsbury’s is trialling the world’s first naturally refrigerated trailer to transport chilled and frozen goods.
The CO2 refrigerated unit trial is part of the retailer’s review of its transport refrigeration gas as it aims to reduce its carbon footprint, which includes converting its stores to natural refrigeration by 2030.
“The new carbon dioxide technology has much less of an impact on climate change and we hope it will play a big part in helping us reduce our carbon emissions. We will be monitoring its performance closely and if successful, in line with our replacement plan, it could help us save over 70,000 tonnes of CO2 compared to the current refrigerated trailer fleet," Nick Davies, Sainsbury’s head of transport operations, said.
Sainsbury’s is working with Carrier Transicold in a two year trial of the new HFC-free cooling technology for road transport, using a modified version of Carrier’s NaturaLINE™ refrigeration system, which was initially developed for deep sea containers and completed a rigorous sea trial programme in 2012.
Sainsbury’s also recently extended its dual-fuel fleet to 51 vehicles saving up to 25 per cent in carbon emissions (over 2,090 tonnes of CO2). The environmentally friendly fleet, now one of the largest in the UK, operates on a combination of diesel and bio-methane, produced from rotting organic material in landfill. Each dual-fuel vehicle will save around 41 tonnes of CO2 from being dispersed into the atmosphere each year.
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Ellen Lunney
