Green electricity and vegetable oil
Enns/Vienna (OTS) – Long distances by rail, medium distances with alternative fuels and last-mile delivery with electric trucks – plus sophisticated concepts to combine delivery to the branches and collection from the manufacturers, to optimize routes and minimize empty runs: “There are There is not just one measure to make transport logistics ecologically sustainable, but rather a broad package of measures that must mesh together. From powerful IT systems to optimize routes and loading volumes to the installation of regional transshipment points, we have laid the foundations in recent years. This year and next year, a series of specific changes will go into operation that will save a total of around 1,400 tons of CO2 from 2025,” says Stefan Heiglauer, Managing Director for Logistics.
E-truck: Emission-free and CO2-neutral branch delivery in Vienna
One focus of the activities is on supplying the approximately 100 dm stores in Vienna: in July, the first three electric trucks were put into operation to bring goods to the dm stores in Vienna. The majority of branches in the federal capital are to be supplied electrically by autumn 2025, with only a few direct trips from Enns remaining on diesel or HVO. Spedition Quehenberger, dm’s logistics partner, will provide a total of around 10 electric vehicles for this purpose. “Electric drives primarily make sense for short distances, and the city of Vienna is particularly suitable for this. Our inner-city transport logistics will be CO2-neutral and emissions-free,” says Stefan Heiglauer. dm is joining the Zero Emission Initiative of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.
As a future-oriented logistics company, we are pleased to be able to drive forward this sustainability initiative together with our long-standing customer dm drogerie markt,” confirms Paul Weissenberger, project manager at Quehenberger Logistics. “In order to receive funding for this project, we have developed a detailed multi-stage plan together. The confirmation came at the beginning of the year,” says Weissenberger happily.
HVO fuel: Vegetable oil and cooking fats instead of diesel
While electric trucks are the method of choice for short inner-city distances, dm replaces fossil fuels on medium distances with so-called HVO fuels (“Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil”): In addition to vegetable oils, diesel is used for the production of this type Waste as well as oils and fats from residues, such as used cooking oil, are used. “In a first step, together with our logistics partner, we will serve the main route to four regional transshipment points using HVO fuels: In addition to the Enns-Vienna route, the Enns-Salzburg, Enns-Fürnitz and Enns-Graz routes will also be served, totaling around 600 Tons of CO2 saved annually,” reports Stefan Heiglauer.
“The use of HVO in our vehicles results in an immense reduction in CO2 emissions and a reduction in particulate matter emissions. The big advantage is that this biogenic fuel can be used directly as a diesel replacement in existing vehicles without any conversion,” says Quehenberger COO Klaus Hrazdira, describing the advantages. “The biofuel used is listed in Quehenberger’s annual sustainability report. In the future, customers should be able to view the resulting CO₂ savings in the system,” emphasizes Klaus Hrazdira.
Intermodal: Combined transport on long distances
In order to promote the decarbonization of the logistics network as a whole, dm has also been relying on combined transport (intermodal transport) in the transport chain since this year. The majority of the route is covered by rail. Only the pre- and on-carriage from the production facility to the terminal and from the terminal to the distribution center is carried out by truck on the road. Depending on the distance and load, combined transport can save 60 to 80 percent of CO₂ emissions compared to road transport. In total, dm has already converted 14 suppliers for the distribution center in Enns (Austria) and 13 suppliers for the dm brand distribution center in Páty (Hungary) to intermodal transport. This primarily involves bridging long distances from suppliers from Belgium, Germany, France and Sweden. In this way, dm will achieve CO₂ savings of around 400 tons by the end of 2025. If all potentially possible suppliers were to be converted, annual CO₂ savings of up to 700 tons per year would be possible in the future.
Questions & Contact:
dm drugstore market GmbH
Mag. Stefan Ornig
Press spokesperson dm drogerie markt Austria, movea marketing GmbH & Co KG
Tel.: 0662/64 35 790
presse@dm.at