Müller is set to expand its fleet of electric vehicles for its Milk & More deliveries.
The dairy company will roll out 160 new electric milk vans, taking its fleet to just over 500 by May and in so doing becoming the UK’s largest operator of electric vehicles.
The new vehicles, which are powered by rechargeable batteries and have a range of up to 125 miles, represent the latest step in the business’ wider commitment to reducing its environmental footprint. The fleet will travel over 14 million miles a year, saving 3.4 million litres of diesel and helping Müller to reduce the noise of its milk rounds – an important consideration as Milk & More deliveries are made before 7 AM.
The business has also replaced the 1.75 million plastic bags it uses every year with paper bags and has a sustainable option for wet weather. It is also working on a project to improve the average number of times its glass milk bottles can be reused – from 25 to 30.
Andrew Kendall, deputy CEO for Milk & More, said: “We are transforming the great British milkman into a modern, convenient delivery service which has a sustainable, environmentally friendly proposition at its heart. We are continually looking to reduce our environmental footprint, so customers can be assured that they are buying into a business that is fully committed to a sustainable circular economy.”
This month Milk & More also launched a new air freight-free and eco-friendly range of organic fruit and vegetables, which boasts compostable cotton packaging. The new products are part of Müller Milk & More’s overall strategy to remove unnecessary plastic packaging.
It is not the first food company to trial electric vehicles as part of its approach to sustainability, but Müller does now claim to be the largest operator in the UK at least.
Companies including Tesla, Daimler and Arrival have all developed prototypes of electric vehicles that could transform logistics and road haulage – including, in the case of the latter, an electric van from Oxfordshire-based Arrival Electric Vehicles that has been trialled by UPS and the Royal Mail.
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