As part of its dedicated environmental programme ‘Planet Me’, TNT recently bought six new Volvo FM480 prime movers for its Australian line-haul operations. Five will be delivered to Melbourne, one to Perth. TNT chose the FM480 because it meets the strict emissions standards now being put into place in Europe under the ‘Euro 5’ legislation.
Euro 5 isn’t due to come into force in Australia until 2011, but TNT’s Managing Director, Roger Corcoran said “It’s our quest to become a zero-emissions company worldwide and we are taking a lead here in Australia by adopting Euro 5 compliance three years ahead of schedule.”
“Euro 4 was all about reducing soot and smoke, Euro 5 is about reducing harmful gas emissions even further. The Volvo FM480 generates far less harmful Nitrous Oxide gas and was the only vehicle that enabled us to move to Euro 5. You know that in some cities in the world, the air coming out of these trucks is cleaner than the air going in?”
Other aspects of the FM480 such as safety, increased driver comfort, I-Shift auto-transmission and reduced noise levels also played a part in TNT’s choice of the Volvo FM480. Corcoran added that “Truck drivers are a tough bunch, but they greatly appreciate all of these features of the Volvo that make their job that much safer and easier.”
The purchase forms part of TNT’s ‘Planet Me’ environmental initiative which is seeing the company take steps to reduce the environmental impact of the entire company and its operations.
“It’s very easy just to say ‘we’re clean and green’,” said Corcoran, “but you need to put some substance behind the statement and we’re doing that. Since 2006, our ‘Planet Me’ programme has been monitoring our carbon emissions, reducing the impact of our fleet and educating staff on reducing waste and saving power. These are values that are also clearly at the heart of Volvo’s approach to business and to truck design, so that was big factor in our decision.”
It’s not just in their trucks either that TNT is taking steps to reduce their impact. The company has a team dedicated to corporate responsibility and pays close attention to managing waste. “In all our depots we recycle packaging from freight and we build all our new depots to the highest environmental standards” said Corcoran.
“There’s a sound commercial reason for this. Many of our customers now demand to know how we can help them reduce their greenhouse footprint. They want to know the effect of moving their goods, so we have to explain all of that in our tender documents. Getting into Euro 5 early benefits everyone.”
Increasing operating costs are another factor. TNT have been upgrading their whole fleet over the past seven years and are seeing significant benefits in reduced fuel consumption and running costs.
Despite the higher up-front cost of buying Euro 5-accredited trucks, Corcoran is quite happy about the trade-off in long-term advantages: “We could buy less environmentally-friendly vehicles at a lower price and run them more cheaply, but we believe that would be counter-productive. In the long term we will save money and reduce our costs and our emissions.”
Peter Hertinge, President and CEO of Volvo Commercial Vehicles Australia, added “TNT are taking practical steps ahead of the rest to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment. Volvo is famous for making safe vehicles, but making them run cleanly and with reduced fuel consumption is also a big priority for us.”
Corcoran added “The decision to go with Volvo was an easy one because they were the only company offering a vehicle that met all of our requirements. We’ve used Volvos for years and already have 30 of their prime movers in our fleet.”
“We’ve found that we share similar core values and it’s a partnership that we’re very happy to continue. Our relationship with Volvo is a good example of how two international businesses can work in partnership to make a difference in the community.”