Kingfisher cuts fuel use and carbon emissions

Kingfisher, the owner of Screwfix and DIY chain B&Q, is on target to reduce its delivery fleet's fuel use by 10% by 2012/13.

The company's latest Corporate Responsibility Report says it has reduced litres of fuel used per cubic metre of product delivered to stores by 8% since 2007/08 (and 2% in the past year).

The figures come from its own fleet (excluding partners such as DHL), which handle all deliveries to Screwfix, 70% to B&Q and about a quarter of deliveries to the group's French business Castorama for the year ending 29 January 2011.

Kingfisher credits its increased use of double-deck trailers (up to 275 or 38% of all trailers used) for the savings and the company's new £77.4m Swindon DC, which will be fully operational by next year, is expected to reduce road miles and the fleet's CO2 emissions by a further 15%.

In its report, Kingfisher describes a trial of dual-fuel vehicles that started in 2010 as promising, with a projected 22% fuel saving and a 13.4% reduction in CO2 compared with its current fleet based on current data, although it says more work needs to be done to review the cost and payback period.

Source : Chris Druce - Road Transport.com
www.roadtransport.com/Articles/2011/06/16/139029/Kingfisher-cuts-fuel-use-and-carbon-emissions.htm