Major school meals provider rolls out refrigerated EV fleet

Leading meals provider, apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods has marked a major milestone in the rollout of its ‘industry-first’ refrigerated electric vehicle (EV) fleet, further showcasing its commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility.

With a total of 223 Wiltshire Farm Foods EVs now on the road and 75% of customer delivery rounds electrified nationwide, the business has successfully completed the target set for its transition.

With a £14.3m investment behind the development and implementation of EVs capable of sustaining consistent freezer temperatures for extended periods of time, apetito has delivered true market-leading innovation that is redefining what sustainable progress looks like within the sector.

The change is set to save an impressive 1,102 tonnes of CO2e from the meals provider’s scope 1 emissions each year – a reduction that represents an estimated 8.37% reduction in its total scope 1 and 2 footprint, making it the largest carbon reduction delivered by any of its projects to date and accelerating progress towards its ambitious carbon reduction targets.

Lee Sheppard, Director of Corporate Affairs, Policy and Sustainability for apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods said: “It may be common to see electric vehicles on the road today, but the technology required to meet the challenging demands of our frozen fleet required a truly pioneering approach.

“To help power this progress, many of our vans feature specialist enhancements, including roof-mounted solar panels that generate additional power whilst on the move.

“Over the past 18 months we have been introducing the vehicles across our operation and are extremely proud of how far we’ve come on this journey – with electric vehicles now supporting 75% of our customer delivery rounds in Wiltshire Farm Foods. This is a target we set early in the project, and one that we feel incredibly proud to have delivered – at a time when many businesses struggle to turn sustainability commitments into reality.

“Our fleet is already setting a new benchmark for sustainable transportation, and reaching this important milestone marks a significant step toward completing the transformation.”