Michelin switches own truck fleet to HVO

Equipped with 400,000 litres of HVO, Michelin aims to reduce carbon emissions across its fleet based in Stoke-on-Trent by up to 30%. This amount of fuel will supply the fleet until the end of the year to cut emissions. It’s expected to save 1,024 tonnes of CO2 and will be supplied by Crown Oil. Its 50 trucks will run on the fuel which are operated by Great Bear, a division of Culina Group. The vehicles deliver tyres and retreads to Michelin’s European distribution centre and remix factory in Stoke and to smaller distribution centres across the country. 

John Howe, MD of Michelin Tyre plc, says: “We held a series of think tanks looking at ways to reduce CO2 emissions from our radial distribution fleet, and HVO came out on top. From a practical perspective, the fact it can be used as a drop-in fuel, and was available immediately, made this an easy decision to make.

“With any change in strategy, it’s often the first step which is most critical, as this gives you the inertia and momentum to continue. We’re now topping up our bunkered fuel facility with 35,000-litres of HVO at a time, and every tanker load translates into a 2.62% reduction in our fleet’s annual CO2 emissions. By year-end, we’ll have reached our initial target of a 30% saving. If the trial proves successful, and we’re very confident it will, we will have the ability to flex our investment in HVO to unlock even greater environmental savings in the future.”

By 2050, Michelin aims to achieve net zero and by 2030, the company is targeting a 50% reduction compared to 2010 levels. These goals have been logged and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This independent organisation encourages companies to set targets to reduce their environmental impact.