ECO Stars News
SAINSBURY’S JOINS AWARD WINNING ECO STARS FLEET ENVIRONMENT SCHEME AS A FIVE STAR OPERATOR
January 2010
J Sainsbury’s plc has recently signed up to the award winning ECO (Efficient and Cleaner Operations) Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme. The free South Yorkshire scheme offers an exciting opportunity for all commercial vehicles to cut costs and improve environmental performance by reducing fuel consumption.
Sainsbury’s has signed up 120 of their vehicles at Sherburn in Elmet depot (Leeds) to the scheme and has received the maximum 5 star rating.
Respect for the environment is a fundamental part of their business strategy and decision-making. One of the biggest environmental impacts for the Logistics Division is the movement of goods between Sainsbury’s depots and stores. As a result, they are continually focusing on ways to reduce their emissions by being both more efficient in their operations and by trialling new technologies.
The scheme, which is the first of its kind in the UK, recognises fleet operators who are developing various initiatives to reduce their polluting vehicle emissions and effectively reduce the quantity of fuel used. The ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme was launched in January last year by South Yorkshire’s air quality campaign, Care4Air, as part of the drive to improve the quality of air across the region.
Sainsbury’s use fuel champions on each of their sites to monitor fuel consumption and raise awareness of the importance of fuel as a precious resource within their operation. This includes the provision of a weekly and four weekly fuel report by vehicle, covering vehicle registration number, start and end kilometres, total kilometres and fuel litres used per kilometre for every vehicle.
Lynne Watson, Sherburn Depot General Manager at Sainsbury’s, said: “We welcome the opportunity to learn from others in order to improve, and the ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme gives us the opportunity to have an external body review the way we do things to help us to get even better.”
“As a five star member from the off, we hope that the best practice we have demonstrated could be adopted by others on the scheme to help make their fleets more efficient too.”
“We are proud of all the work that our colleagues have done in helping us to reduce our environmental impact and it is good to get some external recognition through the ECO Stars Scheme.”
With no sign up fee, help through the application process and tailor-made support for each individual company, fleet operators across South Yorkshire really have nothing to lose and so much to gain.
Robert Gillicker, ECO Stars Coordinator, said: “Since the scheme launched in January 2009, over 4,000 vehicles across the region have been assessed by our ECO Stars Team. The scheme is completely free to sign up to and we give you as much or a little guidance as you require. The process of registration is straightforward and once we have assessed your fleet we will initiate feedback for any improvements that can be made to further reduce the environmental impact of the operation of the fleet, as well as further cutting costs.
“We are looking forward to working with Sainsbury’s and hope other fleets can learn from their fuel management system which helps to improve driver efficiency and lower harmful emissions in the environment. I hope many more fleet operators across South Yorkshire will take advantage of this great opportunity to lower emissions and save a great amount of money annually.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the scheme, its benefits and how to sign up, call the ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme Team on 01543 416 416 and quote ‘ECO Stars’. Alternatively, email [email protected]