Boots customers in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire will be the first in the UK to have their prescriptions delivered by Electric vehicles. Boots are introducing five electric Renault Kangoo ZE vans to the fleet, which runs the service that picks up prescriptions and delivers them to patient’s homes.
These are the first Electric Vans to be purchased by Boots, and form part of the businesses commitment to continue to reduce the environmental impact of its operations.
If successful, the pilot will be expanded to other areas in the UK.
The fleet of 5 electric vans will run from the Boots site in Beeston, supporting Boots pharmacies and customers across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Each zero emission vehicle is fitted with Lightfoot Technology, a real-time engine analysis system that provides live, in-cab coaching to help drivers improve both fuel efficiency and safety.
Nottingham City Transport’s ‘Ultra Low Emission Vehicle’ Scheme’ (ULEV) has supported the scheme by helping to create charging stations on the Boots site to power the new Electric Vehicles.
Eddie Storr, Head of Supply Chain Pharmacy, Boots UK, said:
“Running over 9,500 routes a week with a van fleet of 900, we are continually looking at ways to improve both the efficiency of our service and its environmental impact.
Over the last six months, we have achieved significant mileage reductions through better route planning and the next step on our journey is to reduce our carbon footprint is to introduce zero emission delivery vehicles. Following the launch in Nottingham, we are looking at other locations around the country to expand our electric fleet.”
The introduction of these electric vehicles follows the chain’s move to unbleached (brown) paper carrier bags as standard. The paper bags are replacing plastic bags in 53 Boots stores across the UK, with a full roll out to all 2,485 stores completed by early 2020. This change will remove an estimated 900 tonnes of plastic from Boots store operations each year. Other sustainability initiatives undertaken by the retailer recently include signing the government’s ‘Step up to the Plate’ pledge in a commitment to help halve food waste by 2030.
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