- Conad will use electric vehicles to deliver products from its distribution centers to 16 Conad stores in Rome and Palermo
- The pilot project, in collaboration with Enel X Way, is soon to be rolled out in Turin and Florence as well
Rome/Bologna, June 6th, 2023 – Conad has launched a new logistics project involving 100% electric deliveries to its stores in Rome and in Palermo, in collaboration with Enel X Way, Enel’s electric mobility company. The initiative highlights Conad’s commitment to an ever more sustainable approach to logistics, with a view to reducing its CO2 emissions and improving air quality. The new project involves the use of electric vehicles to deliver products from the distribution centers of Cooperative Conad Nord Ovest and PAC 2000A to 16 stores in Rome and Palermo. The electric delivery vehicles will travel 450-500 km per day in the areas they serve. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) recently published an article highlighting the positive environmental impact of converting diesel vehicles to electric, in terms of reducing CO2 emissions, improving urban air quality and making a major contribution to decarbonization. The research shows that a 40-ton electric battery-articulated truck produces 63% less emissions over its lifetime compared with an equivalent diesel vehicle, rising to 84% to 92% if powered entirely by electricity from renewable sources.
“Enel X Way’s goal is to support its partners towards a quick, simple transition to electric mobility by offering them the best solutions on the market,” explained Riccardo Cassetta, Private Customers Sales Manager for Enel X Way Italia. “We set off on a journey towards sustainability with Conad in 2017, which we are continuing today by providing ultra-fast charging infrastructure for medium- and long-range logistics for Rome and shortly also Turin and Florence. The first 150 kW unit has already been installed at the Fiano Romano site, enabling Conad to fully charge one of its all-electric delivery vehicles in the time it takes to load and unload the goods, so that it can get back to work with zero emissions.”
“Here at Conad, we have always been in favor of modern, efficient logistics, designed around corporate sustainability. The 100% electric delivery project marks another step forward for our environmental sustainability strategy, by optimizing our energy consumption and significantly reducing our CO2 emissions,” explained Andrea Mantelli, Conad’s Supply Chain Manager. “The Cooperatives put in a lot of hard work to make it all possible, and they played a key role in the success of the initiative. Thanks to their commitment, Conad will be able to provide a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly delivery service.”
“We are proud to be launching such an important sustainability project in certain areas of our sales network. For this first stage, we opted to focus on metropolitan areas, partly to make a more incisive contribution to the fight against emissions and partly because these areas are equipped with a more widespread network of electric mobility infrastructures,” added Massimiliano Matteucci, Logistics Manager of PAC 2000A Conad and Paolo Vadalà, Supply Chain Manager of Conad Nord Ovest. “Logistics plays a key role because it supports all of our Cooperatives’ development policies: on the one hand, it drives our quest for efficiency gains and system innovation to improve the service we offer our Members; and on the other, it is one of the front-line aspects of our environmental sustainability policy.”
Over the next few months, the use of new electric delivery vehicles will be extended to Turin and Florence, as a tangible expression of the ongoing commitment of Conad and its associated Cooperatives to reducing the environmental impact of transport. The brand’s commitment to sustainable mobility also encompasses the communities in which it operates, where it has installed electric charging points at Conad stores: thanks to its partnership with Enel X Way, Conad has installed 500 public charging points nationwide. This has enabled the brand to provide the community with a service that is increasingly geared towards new needs and care for the environment. Electric mobility and Conad’s commitment to sustainable logistics form part of Conad’s “Let’s Support the Future” sustainability strategy, in the Environment and Resources dimension, by helping protect the environment and boost the growth of a practical model of sustainable mobility.