Transport Efficiency Commitment
FDF members are committed to embedding environmental standards into their
transport practices, including their contracts with hauliers as they fall for
renewal,
to achieve 'fewer and friendlier' food transport miles.
Introduction
Few people in modern societies are self-sufficient in food and drink. It is
generally provided on a commercial scale and transported from plough to plate
within a globally competitive market.
Transporting food and drink, like all other goods, has environmental and social
impacts.
Research commissioned by Defra[1] on the UK food
chain shows these overwhelmingly as the impacts of road congestion, damage to
infrastructure, and road accidents.
There are also impacts on air and noise pollution and CO2 emissions, though to
a
much lesser extent.
In October 2007, FDF launched its Five-fold Environmental Ambition. We committed
to make a significant contribution to improving the environment by targeting
priorities where our members can make the biggest difference.
Under this, and dovetailing with IGD's work on greater transport collaboration
across the food chain, FDF developed an environmental checklist to encourage
our
members to achieve fewer and friendlier food miles. We also developed an
environmental clause for use by our members in contracts as they fall for
renewal. This
asked third party hauliers to publish a fewer and friendlier food miles
manifesto and to report annually on their environmental performance.
We are pleased that about 40 FDF member companies with a combined turnover of
over £16bn have signed up to the
checklist on day one. The vast majority use third party contractors and so will
be applying the environmental clause.
FDF applauds the continued leadership being shown by members on this important
agenda - the impact of which is best brought alive by the case studies included
in this pack. By achieving 'fewer and friendlier' food transport miles, members
will contribute to the challenge for the food chain to reduce its environmental
and social impacts.
Step by step, and working collectively, we are pleased that FDF members are
making a difference to the environment – both now and for the future.
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Transport Commitment
FDF's 10 Point Checklist for Greener Food Transport
FDF members are committed to embedding environmental standards in their food
transport practices, including
contracts with hauliers as they fall for renewal, to achieve 'fewer and
friendlier' food transport miles.
FDF has developed the 10 Point Checklist for Greener Food Transport to help
members achieve this goal.
Checklist
- I. What is my/your company's policy on maximising vehicle loading whether
through the use of double decks for lower density loads or running at maximum
gross
weight for higher density?
- II. What is the ratio of trailers to tractors across my/your fleet given that a
high ratio can help reduce waiting times and lead to less trucks on the road?
- III. What is my/your company's fleet replacement policy and how long will it be
before all vehicles in the fleet are ones which comply with the latest EU
emissions regulations, e.g. EU IV & EU V?
- IV. What use do my/your company make of vehicle tracking technology (i.e.
computerised vehicle routing and scheduling including satellite tracking) to
minimise
environmental impact?
- V. Does my/your company record empty running and, in turn, collaborate with
others, including by sub contracting, to try and reduce it?
- VI. What 'lanes' does my/your company currently operate on and are there any
which we/you consistently or occasionally avoid due to higher environmental
impacts? Does my/your company record and avoid difficult drop points, which
cause most
delay and/or failed deliveries?
- VII. What proportion of my/your company's current annual mileage/tonnage moved
is by rail and/or ship and what is its policy on increasing such transport
usage?
- VIII. Does my/your company encourage, through its own volition or through
participation in industry fora, innovation and best practice in for example
development of more efficient vehicle design (including through use of 'aero
kits'),
alternative fuels, lubricants, refrigerants and tyres produced without high
aromatic
extender oils in the rubber matrix?
- IX. What are my/your company's policies on training its drivers to reduce
environmental impact through better driving practice?
- X. What are my/your company's policies on vehicle maintenance and the retention
of correct tyre pressures given their relevance to fuel efficiency? Where
refrigerated transport is used this should include maintenance of equipment and
insulation to prevent and minimise leakage of refrigerants.
The Role of FDF Members
FDF member companies following the 10 Point Checklist for Greener Food Transport
are encouraged to use it as a review aid in relation to their own fleets or, as
in most cases, to embed its principles at the heart of their relationships with
third party road hauliers.
In this regards FDF has also developed an environmental clause for use by our
members in contracts as they fall for renewal.
Draft Environmental Clause
The Carrier undertakes to the Customer that it shall:
a) within [ ] months of the commencement of the Services develop, publish and
provide the Customer with a copy of a “fewer and friendlier” food transport
miles
manifesto which sets out how the Carrier will operate to reduce the
environmental and social impact of its food transport (“the Manifesto”). The
Manifesto
should take into account the “10 point checklist for greener food transport”
published by the Food and Drink Federation (“FDF”) which can be found at
www.fdf.org.uk
and should incorporate identified targets for improvements in specified
timescales; and
b) once a year during the term of the Contract, within [ ] of written request by
the Customer, provide to the Customer a qualitative written report on the
Carrier's progress against the objectives and targets set out in the Manifesto
(in
particular, identifying where progress has been achieved through the following:
greater capacity vehicles, engine specifications, vehicle telematics, transport
collaboration, logistics system redesign and modal shift from road to rail or
shipping), which report the Carrier hereby agrees may be disclosed by the
Customer to
the FDF for the purposes of compilation of a consolidated report on progress in
the greener food transport initiative across the FDF membership which may be
published by the FDF, provided that results shown will not be attributed to
individual Carriers by name without their prior consent.
IGD's Efficient Consumer Response UK Sustainable Distribution Initiative
Following a review of the Five-fold Environmental Ambition in 2010 the transport
commitment was revised to include reference to members making a contribution to
IGD's Efficient Consumer Response UK Sustainable Distribution Initiative.
The IGD ECR Initiative has a target to save a cumulative 200 million HGV miles
across the food and grocery sector over the period 2007-12 through changes to
logistics activities across the UK. IGD and ECR UK have developed an
interactive
Road Miles Savings Calculator to help companies calculate their fewer and
friendlier miles through a five step process based on kilometres travelled,
litres of
fuel used and tonnes lifted. The Calculator, which takes the form of an excel
spreadsheet, can be downloaded from the IGD ECR UK website.
FDF will report on progress in its annual Five-fold Environmental Ambition
Progress Reports due at the end of each year along with any relevant case
studies.
FDF's 10 point Checklist for Greener Food Transport remains the cornerstone of
our efforts to embed environmental standards in our members' food transport
practices. However IGD ECR UK has also produced a number of guidance documents
on
different aspect of distribution all of which are free to download from the IGD website.
The Role of FDF
FDF will continue to work closely with IGD's Efficient Consumer Response
Programme to achieve greater transport collaboration and improved distribution
across
the food chain as a whole. In particular we will report on progress against the
IGD ECR Initiative target.
We will also illustrate the collective impact of FDF's policy on greener food
transport by publishing member case studies in our annual Progress Reports.
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More Information
Notes:
- Reducing the external Costs of Domestic Transportation of Food by the Food
Industry, Faber Maunsell, 2007
Last reviewed: 15 Aug 2011