Bentley’s in-house logistics will run purely on sustainably sourced fuels

Bentley has announced that its in-house logistics operations will run on 100 per cent renewable fuels as it continues its work on being a sustainable company.

The British firm wants to be ‘the most sustainable luxury automotive manufacturer’ in the world and has been adapting its working processes to achieve this.

Its latest move is to install a 34,000-litre ‘Green D+’ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil fuel tank. More commonly referred to as HVO, it’s a type of diesel made from sustainable raw materials such as waste fats, vegetables and oils.

It can work in traditional diesel engines and can reduce CO2 emissions by almost 90 per cent, nitrous oxide by 30 per cent and particulates by up to 80 per cent, when compared with conventional fuel.

It’s being used to fuel 10 HGV trucks that transfer parts between Bentley’s Crewe site and a storage depot in Winsford, as well as 20 smaller on site security vehicles and delivery vans. Bentley says 250 forklift trucks and tow motors are already being charged using electricity generated through its 30,000 on-site solar panels.

Peter Bosch, Member of the Board for Manufacturing, said: “Earlier this month we set out our Beyond100 strategy with a clear target to become end-to-end carbon neutral by 2030 – leading the way forward for the luxury sector – and challenging ourselves to become green pioneers in all aspects of our operations.

“Switching our in-house logistics to 100 per cent renewable fuels – which are derived from waste products – is a great example of this approach in practice.

“The installation of our new HVO fuel facilities is the first on an automotive site of this size and it complements our existing strategy of generating solar PV and procuring green electricity perfectly.

“Looking ahead, we expect the project to provide us with information and insights which we can apply to our wider inbound and outbound logistics to further reduce our impact on the environment”.