HUL to decarbonise its supply chain by 2039, use 100% green energy by 2030

HUL has signed MoU with BP and Jio-BP to use BIO-CNG for its trucks. Emissions from BIO-CNG are about 70 per cent less than those from fossil fuels

One of the country’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), is working towards decarbonising its end-to-end supply chain by 2039.

So far, the maker of Lux soaps has already made strides towards achieving zero emissions at its manufacturing units by 2030.

“In line with our Unilever commitments at our key manufacturing plants, we will start using 100 per cent green energy by 2030,” Yogesh Mishra, executive director, supply chain at HUL, told Business Standard.

He added, “At our manufacturing plants, we now use 95 per cent green energy. We have set up solar and wind energy systems at our factories. We have also signed an agreement with Brookfield for offsite solar energy. We are confident that we will move completely towards green energy before our target of 2030.”

This falls under scope 1 for HUL. Under scope 2 and 3, which include end-to-end supply chain, the FMCG major plans to achieve green transition by 2039 via use of electric vehicles (EVs). It will also bring down the distance between the factory and demand centre.

“On the logistics side, we are working towards reducing the distance from the factory to the demand centre, which will bring down our emissions considerably. Through the levers of ‘travel less’, ‘travel efficiently’, and ‘power renewably’, HUL aims to reduce the distance travelled, improve efficiency and asset utilisation, and harness green energy for transport,” Mishra said.

He said HUL is optimising the network, factory location and depot location so that even as volumes rise, travel distance comes down.  

During the last five years, HUL has optimised its network in such a way that despite showing growth in volumes, it has reduced the distance travelled by almost 10 per cent. This, in turn, has reduced its emissions. 

“This effort will continue in the future. Also, we are working towards efficient transportation of our goods,” he added.

The company is also working towards filling its trucks to full capacity and is focusing on deploying the right type of truck in its ecosystem to minimise emissions.

HUL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BP and Jio-BP to use BIO-CNG for its trucks. Emissions from BIO-CNG are about 70 per cent less than those from fossil fuels.

“They are setting up (BP and Jio-BP) BIO-CNG filling centres near our plants in the north, especially Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Our plan is that at least 10-15 per cent of our vehicles from this region will run on BIO-CNG,” Mishra added. The company will scale this up over a period of time.

“We are also increasing the use of electric vehicles in our last-mile operations. As of now, we already have over 100 EVs.

We are working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop capability so that we can scale up further and faster. As of now, there are challenges, with EVs being unable to carry higher loads,” he said.