Diageo has partnered with sustainable freight management company Zeus on a new hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel trial in the UK.
Zeus will be handling a third of the drinks giant’s UK bottle-to-recycling plant distributions in a trial that is set to save Diageo around 1.8 million kg of CO2 emissions per year.
Under the trial, the company will initially handle 50 trucks per week fuelled by HVO – a fossil-free, renewable alternative to regular diesel that can deliver up to a 90% reduction in carbon equivalent emissions compared with traditional diesel – across 14 major UK transport routes, with plans to expand operations into Europe in early 2024.
Zeus CCO Sam McGuirk said: “Diageo is a renowned global leader in the alcoholic beverages sector and being selected as a logistics partner in the UK demonstrates our capacity to serve high-profile clients and establish robust, reliable and long-lasting relationships with our customers.
“Zeus is dedicated to delivering environmentally responsible solutions and advocating for investments in alternative fuels to address the ongoing climate crisis, and our partnership with Diageo reinforces our shared allegiance to a greener future.”
Several fmcg and logistics companies have been making the switch to HVO as a way to slash their carbon footprint in the lead-up to net zero deadlines.
Zeus last year launched Freight Connect, a low-carbon multimodal solution combining its proprietary technology with clean HGVs fuelled with HVO, electric powered rail freight and emission reporting backed by the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC).
The company said it had since then seen a “remarkable 400% growth” in demand for sustainable freight solutions, which it claimed “significantly slashed” greenhouse gas emissions for leading fmcg companies by over 80%.
Logistics tech startup Zeus was founded by 24 year-old entrepreneurs Jai Kanwar and Clemente Theotokis in 2020 with the goal of pioneering new approaches to freight efficiency.
The business had a hugely successful first couple of years, and is now working with major food and retail companies including AB InBev, P&G, and Kraft Heinz.
Diageo’s GB Logistics procurement category specialist Philip Byrne said: “It was apparent from Diageo’s first interaction with Zeus that there was an alignment on values. 2030 is quickly approaching, so Zeus’s focus on sustainability and diversity was a massive selling point.
“Their scalability partnered with their flexibility has been a great addition to our business and we are looking forward to what the future of our partnership has in store.”
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