Meet the MT Awards 2022 winners – Low Carbon Award partnered with Fraikin
LOW CARBON AWARD
McCulla (Ireland) has launched a waste-to-energy circular economy programme, investing in an anaerobic digester plant at its headquarters that allows it to produce all of its own energy without requiring any grid electricity.
The plant converts food waste into renewable electricity to power McCulla’s cold stores and biomethane gas to power its trucks.
The plan to upgrade its plant to produce HGV fuel became a reality last year, when McCulla took delivery of 10 new Iveco Stralis NP trucks (with a further 19 on order).
These first vehicles are just the beginning, and McCulla aims to phase out diesel in favour of gas to further reduce its emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. The company intends to be running its entire fleet of 100-plus trucks on gas using the sustainable transport model within five years.
By having a successful proof of concept, McCulla also hopes to inspire other transport operators to make similar investments in this type of renewable energy.
McCulla has also implemented a range of proactive environmental improvements over the years, such as rainwater harvesting for reuse in truck cleaning; a focus on driving styles and driver training to improve fuel efficiency; and implementation of sophisticated warehouse control systems that optimise electricity usage.
Customers are also increasingly focused on having environmentally responsible suppliers, so McCulla knew it could win tenders by implementing sustainable practices. Reducing customers’ food waste is an added value proposition, for example.
The judges said: “This is a great entry demonstrating a significant reduction in CO2 across the whole operation; an impressive focus on reverse logistics and keeping vehicles full; and a whole series of carbon-reduction activities in addition to the focus on fleet emissions.
“It is a great example of what can be done on a small scale to improve sustainability.”
“This is great recognition for what has been seven years in production. We are using biomethane to upgrade into trucks. It’s great to see”
Peter Summerton, MD, McCulla (Ireland)
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