Ultra20 gets food on the move at the Co-op

ESL Biofuels has landed a major contract to supply United Co-operatives with a new environmentally-friendly biodiesel fuel, Ultra 20. ESL is supplying up to 40,000 litres of the fuel each week which is powering the entire truck fleet out of United Co-operatives' distribution depots at Talke in Staffordshire and Cutler Heights in Bradford.

United Co-operatives' food division alone operates a fleet of over 100 trucks that travel a total of 7.2 million kilometres a year delivering to 525 food stores nationwide.

Additionally, as an extension to the contract, a further 40,000 litres of Ultra 20 are being delivered every couple of weeks to the company's healthcare group, Sants Pharmaceuticals Distributors. A specialist pharmaceutical wholesaler providing ethical and counter products to pharmacies, dispensing doctors and hospitals, Sants operates nationally out of its Newcastle under Lyme base. Its switch to Ultra 20 makes it the first healthcare or pharmacy chain to ‘go green' across its entire distribution fleet, as it seeks to cut its transport emissions by 20%.

Committed to a strong environmental agenda United Co-operatives, which in July 2007 amalgamated with the Co-operative Group, already has a number of green projects firmly integrated into its business operations. Adopting a policy of reducing harmful fuel emissions from its extensive transport distribution fleet, the use of Ultra20 was seen as an important way of reducing harmful greenhouse gases and achieving some cost savings.

Developed by ESL Biofuels as a commercial, environmental alternative to traditional diesel fuel, Ultra 20 is a diesel blend using renewable plant oils as well as crude oils and oxygenated during the blending process to create a cleaner burning fuel. With ultra low sulphur content and a 20% net reduction in CO2 output compared to standard diesel, Ultra 20 releases less fossil carbon, drastically reducing a vehicle's harmful emissions.

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"The switch to Ultra20 reinforces our commitment to tackling environmental issues in a positive and effective way by reducing CO2 emissions from our extensive transport operation."

"However, as important as it was for our organisation to reinforce its environmental credentials, any decision to switch to biodiesel fuel still had to make sound economic sense. Fortunately we have secured a relationship with ESL Biofuels and its Ultra20 product that delivers a substantial reduction in our carbon footprint whilst also providing a saving on overall transport costs."

Keith Maloney, General Manager for Environment and Technical Services at United Co-operatives