John Lewis to use low-carbon biomethane-powered delivery trucks by 2028

The phasing out of all John Lewis & Partnership diesel-powered heavy trucks has been put in motion and is to be completed by 2028. Announced in a statement released by John Lewis Partnership on Tuesday the 16 October, the company will be rolling out over 500 new state-of-the-art Waitrose & Partners as well as John Lewis & Partners delivery trucks. All of the new trucks are to be powered by 100% renewable biomethane fuel which drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Each of the new biomethane trucks is able to run up to 500 miles and will emit around 80% less CO2 than the diesel trucks previously used. Once converted the entire HGV fleet will save up to 49,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, which is the equivalent to the carbon footprint of over 6,000 households in the UK.

Justin Laney, partner and general manager of Central Transport for John Lewis Partnership has said on the change of delivery trucks that “We have been pioneering the adoption of long-distance biomethane trucks in the UK and scaling this up to our entire heavy truck fleet will deliver significant environmental and operational benefits. Five biomethane trucks produce the same emissions as one diesel lorry and they are also much quieter, helping reduce not only greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution but also noise pollution in our cities.”

All John Lewis Partnership’s trucks use renewable biomethane made from food waste and waste materials. Biomethane is typically cheaper to convert than conventional diesel which makes for a lower operating cost for the new trucks, compared to the previous diesel equivalents.     

As its current suppliers of biomethane, Philip Fjeld, CEO of CNG Fuels has told Bioenergy Insight that “Renewable and sustainably sourced biomethane is the most cost-effective and lowest-carbon alternative to diesel for HGVs, and is attracting increasing interest. We are thrilled to see John Lewis and Waitrose switch their entire heavy delivery fleet away from diesel and we look forward to continuing to supply the biomethane from our nationwide refuelling network.”

 

John Lewis and Partner’s full statement (link to statement)

 

Written by Emma Greedy, Junior Editor