John Lewis Partnership, the owner of UK retail brands John Lewis and Waitrose, has won the Low Carbon Award at this year’s Motor Transport Awards, marking the company’s third win in this category, following previous victories in 2017 and 2020.
Operating a fleet of 4,500 commercial vehicles, John Lewis Partnership was rewarded and recognised for its strategy to reduce carbon emissions across all parts of its fleet at the 38th annual Motor Transport Awards held in London last week at the Grosvenor House Hotel.
The Low Carbon Award is given to the fleet operator who can show real progress in cutting carbon emissions over the past 12 months. Among the 2024 finalists in this category were Evri, FSEW, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Nicholls Transport, but it was John Lewis Partnership that stood out for the judges this year.
John Lewis Partnership’s approach focuses on reducing miles, improving efficiency, and transitioning to low-carbon fuels. The organisation has set several key sustainability targets:
- Running all heavy trucks on biomethane by 2028
- Ceasing the use of fossil fuels by 2030
- Transitioning all vans and light trucks to electric vehicles
- Using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for any remaining niches
The company has reported improvements in fleet efficiency through the use of doubledeck trailers and optimisation of load fill and routing. At its St Katherine Docks location in London, John Lewis operates a fully electric fleet of seven e-Vivaro vans. In 2023, these vehicles covered 74,000 miles on 4,839 routes, delivering 39,000 orders. The company states this resulted in a £13,000 saving on diesel costs and a reduction of 35.4 tonnes of co2 emissions.
John Lewis currently has 421 Scania gas trucks, representing over 70% of its heavy truck fleet. The company reports that biomethane use displaced 15 million litres of diesel and avoided 39,967 tonnes of CO2 emissions last year. It is now deploying 500-mile range 6x2 CNG tractors.
In collaboration with Cambridge University, the retailer has developed more aerodynamic truck and trailer designs and claims these improvements increase fuel efficiency and reduce cost and CO2 emissions by 7% at steady speed.
The MT Awards judges commented: “I liked the three-way strategy, and on each area there were certain points that showed progress.”
Judges also noted: “Significant further progress made across all vehicle types and infrastructure roll-out,” and “Overall, the scientific approach gives a truly sustainable approach to decarbonisation.”
The Low Carbon Award was presented by Fraikin Customer and Fleet Solutions Director John Cunningham to John Lewis Partnership General Manager for Central Transport Justin Laney.
