Environmentally friendly solutions for transporting goods: from special tractor trailers to more sustainable fuel

Every year, trucks, planes, ships and trains transport billions of tons of goods around the world. In order for these logistics to harm the environment as little as possible, every business must look for innovative solutions. In Lithuania, the Lidl retail chain takes various actions, from biomethane-powered trucks to night shifts to transport goods, thus ensuring that products arrive in stores both quickly and leaving as little footprint on nature as possible.

“One of our main goals is to offer customers not only the best price-quality ratio, but also to ensure that our activities are as sustainable as possible. We estimate that more than 6,000 goods are transported from the logistics center to Lidl stores per year. tons of carbon dioxide. Therefore, we are constantly looking for solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the field of logistics,” says Aivaras Docius, head of logistics department at Lidl Lietuva.

Products go to stores twice a day

In order to deliver goods not only quickly or efficiently, but also sustainably, Lidl truck trailers are filled at least 96 percent. load The possibility to do this is provided by special trailers that are adapted to transport various goods at the same time.

“In one trailer, we simultaneously transport both fruits and vegetables, which require a temperature of 14 degrees, and dairy or meat products, which are transported at a temperature of 0 degrees. This helps ensure that different product categories do not require separate trailers. This also saves human resources – employees in stores do not need to receive more cars and spend time checking cargo,” says A. Docius.

According to him, in this way, all the necessary goods reach the stores, but fewer trips are made. This not only reduces transportation costs, but also the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by trucks. At the same time, it is ensured that the freshest goods reach the customers.

Uses more sustainable types of fuel

In order to reduce GHG emissions in the field of logistics, Lidl also uses more sustainable types of fuel for the transportation of goods. For example, tractors powered by biomethane gas are also used for transportation.

“Biomethane is a renewable energy source, produced by fermentation in special biogas power plants. Here, when microorganisms break down organic matter, methane and other impurities are released. This means that biomethane is produced only from organic waste. The decision to transport products in trucks powered by biomethane gas allows us to partially abandon fossil fuels,” explains the logistics manager of Lidl Lietuva.

It is estimated that tractors powered by biomethane gas reduce GHG emissions by 13.5 percent compared to diesel trucks.

Products are transported in shifts

Looking for additional solutions to reduce environmental impact, Lidl delivers goods to stores in two shifts – day and night. The company does this by using the transport of partners who do not operate at night.

“There are 72 Lidl stores in 27 cities throughout Lithuania, so trucks delivering goods to Lidl stores travel 500 to 600 thousand per month. kilometers. By transporting products at night, we can ensure that the product reaches store shelves faster. In addition, there is much less traffic on the roads at night, there is no need to stand in traffic jams, so products are delivered more efficiently, and the air is less polluted,” asserts A. Docius.

He emphasizes that this also guarantees fresher produce – vegetables, fresh meat or dairy products brought to the logistics center during the day are already on the shelves of Lidl stores the next morning.