Sainsbury’s are piloting this week a 100% emission neutral electric van in London ahead of the potential wider introduction.
The zero-emissions vehicle, named Evie will deliver up to 30 orders a day to shoppers ordering on Sainsbury’s online. The van will be making deliveries across London from Sainsbury’s Online Fulfilment Centre in Bromley-by-Bow and re-charging overnight.
Evie boasts an expected range of about 80 miles on a single charge and capacity to carry the same weight as a diesel vehicle.
Evie will be joined by Stevie, the electric van, in May. Stevie will be delivering to shoppers across central and east London. If successful, the duo could be joined by additional electric vans in other areas served by Sainsbury’s Online.
“We’re delighted to welcome Evie to the team and lead the charge in putting the latest electric van technology to the test for grocery deliveries. We’re always looking at how we can use the latest innovations to best serve our customers and this trial will help us explore how we can deliver Sainsbury’s groceries in a more environmentally-friendly way.”
– Clodagh Moriarty, chief digital officer, Sainsbury’s Group
Last year Sainsbury’s was named the UK’s greenest supermarket after a study by Engaged Tracking found the retailer to be the least polluting of all UK supermarkets. The same year the retailer delivered up to 100 online orders a day via a fleet of five zero-emission bikes to customers across South London from the Streatham Common store.
Sainsbury’s say they’re committed to reducing absolute carbon emissions by 30% and relative emissions by 65% between 2005 and 2020. In 2017/18 and following the introduction of a number of new initiatives, the business recorded reductions of 24% absolute and 50% relative emissions.
