Trucks
Trucks
To reach its target of net zero by 2040, Volvo Trucks is lowering carbon emissions in all areas of its business. Its strategy to reduce CO2 emissions across its own retail network has seen promising results — and this is how it can benefit your truck operation too.
“While the transition to net zero in our products will have the biggest environmental impact, to be truly sustainable, we must also work with our facilities and retail network,” says Catrin Caspersson, Network Investment Manager, Volvo Trucks. “We have therefore committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50% by 2025 across all of our own dealerships compared to our baseline set in 2019.”
It’s an ambitious target, but one that Volvo Trucks’ retail network is already very close to achieving. Work on reducing CO2 emissions in the retail network intensified in 2019, once the baseline was measured.
The first step was to understand what type of emissions the network was producing. This was done by energy mapping the dealerships from both a country and site perspective.
“Our objective was not only to gain an insight into how and where energy was being consumed, but also the type of energy that was being purchased,” explains Catrin. “Volvo operates around 300 of its own retail sites all over the world. Some are small, some are large - and they all have their own unique challenges. We wanted to find out where our biggest emissions were, so we could start by making the most impactful changes first.”
It was a simple but effective move. Every dealership is required to report its energy source and usage - from running service vans and workshops, to heating/cooling offices and charging electric trucks. When this data was visualized, it was possible to see where changes could be made and investigate cleaner alternatives.
“For example, in the colder Nordic countries where consumption was much higher, it was clear that switching to a renewable electric energy source was a priority. In nations where green electricity was not readily available, such as South Africa, Malaysia and in several Eastern European countries, we could see that we needed to focus on switching to solar power,” says Catrin.
Other relatively simple changes include investing in electric heat pumps in nations such as the UK, where the dependency on gas is high. The retail network team also collaborated with Volvo’s Investment and Real Estate departments, to ensure that new workshops were built to strict carbon neutral environmental standards. Gradually, the changes were implemented and Catrin’s team started to see the impact they were having.
“We actually had an initial target of 25% but we increased it to 50% CO2 reductions by 2025 because the traction was so good,” says Catrin. “And even we were surprised, but really pleased to reach 49% by 2023. So now we are aiming for a longer-term target: net zero by 2035.”
Volvo Trucks Own Retail Network have reduced their CO2e in Retail with 49% and have approximately 100 sites with solar power and 180 sites with Fossil free/Renewable electricity (69% of the consumption). In total, the purchased electricity consumption has decreased with 17% and emissions by 64%.
Sharing the results of the changes with the dealerships was an important part of the strategy. Catrin believes the key to driving the sustainability work forward was to create and maintain as much positive engagement as possible.
“It’s a smoother process if everyone is onboard, so a big part of what we are doing is to constantly show the local teams that they are making a difference. We also wanted to establish a new mindset - this isn’t a project, it should be a continuous, natural part of everything we do.”
How can Volvo’s retail CO2 reduction strategy help truck businesses?
The basic principles of the strategy can easily be adapted by transport operators that have similar commitments to sustainability.
There is another significant benefit, not only for fleet owners, but also for transport buyers and even Volvo Trucks’ retail franchises: the dealerships will become a scope 3 supplier within the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The retail CO2 reduction strategy is part of Volvo Trucks’ commitment to the SBTi, a framework that enables companies to set transparent net-zero targets in line with the Paris Agreement’s ambition of a 1.5°C future.
The framework consists of three scopes, and Volvo’s dealerships currently sit within scope 1 - emissions that occur directly from their on-site operation, and scope 2, indirect emissions that occur, for example, when electricity is generated off site.
“When our dealerships reach net zero, our customers will benefit in their scope 3 of the SBTi, because we are part of their supply chain. So our efforts are also part of the truck operators and transport buyers road to net zero,” explains Catrin.
We wanted to establish a new mindset - this isn’t a project, it should be a continuous, natural part of everything we do.”
The final step of the retail network’s transition to net zero, however, will be the hardest.
“The focus will be energy efficiency and to produce our own energy, so we are less reliant on buying from the grid. To do this, we will need to be more creative and ready to test new solutions - roof windmills, infrared heating alternatives and geothermal solutions to support heat pumps - are just some of the ideas we have,” says Catrin.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) to help negate instability in the grid or store solar energy will also be an option for selected dealers. Furthermore, work is underway to switch to electric service vans, especially where green electricity is available.
“While local engagement will still be crucial, the last phase will also require more investment-driven activity in our dealerships. It is difficult to say what that will be, but we must find the right focus and speed - it's an opportunity we believe in and want to be a part of.”
