Royal Mail is taking action to reduce emissions from its larger fleet by introducing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable diesel alternative, for some of its heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
The first locations to transition to HVO include the Sheffield mail centre, Midlands Super Hub and Manchester vehicle operating centre, with four additional sites set to follow in the coming months.
The selection of these sites is based on significant HGV movements for major customers.
The adoption of HVO at these locations is predicted to result in a combined saving of 2.1 million litres of diesel consumption this year.
Rob Fowler, Fleet Director at Royal Mail, said: “We’ve made great progress in decarbonising our operation by introducing 5,000 electric vehicles into our final mile fleet but we also need to focus on our HGVs.
“At present, the electric and hydrogen alternatives are still in development for HGVs. Vehicle ranges are low, purchase prices are high and infrastructure is in its infancy. That is why we have introduced the use of HVO to decarbonise the HGV fleet within our operation via the most viable low-carbon option.”
