EV truck

Brakes and Sysco Speciality Group will begin piloting zero-emissions vehicles as part of a programme to test the feasibility of decarbonising the businesses’ wholesale fleets.

The pilot will include a range of temperature-controlled electric vehicles, including two Electra 19-tonne HGVs and two electric vans.

Parent company Sysco said that the vehicles, which arrived in July, would be used to test different routes, collect charging data and test the performance of the vehicles and batteries.

However, the business admitted that cost and infrastructure were still significant barriers to converting the entire fleet.

“Our vehicles cover almost 60 million miles a year. Transforming our fleet to zero-emissions will be vital to achieving the company’s ambitious science-based climate targets and supporting our customers to achieve their own,” said Sysco GB supply chain and operations director Mark Jenkins.

“We’re excited to be delivering to customers in zero-emission multi-temperature vehicles, which can save around 69 tonnes of carbon per HGV each year. When you consider the impact of expanding that to our entire fleet, the potential is huge.

“We are investigating all options and welcome partnerships with industry and government to join us in pioneering the future of foodservice delivery.”

The new vehicles form part of Sysco’s goal of reducing emissions across its global operations by 27.5% by 2030.