Arla, Danish Crown team up to develop ‘climate-neutral’ transport to UK

Four Danish companies, food giants Arla and Danish Crown and logistics providers DFDS and DSV, have teamed up in a new partnership to develop a climate-neutral transport corridor between Denmark and the UK.

The ambition is to transport Arla’s and Danish Crown’s products from farms in Denmark to consumers in the UK with zero impact on the environment.

Every year, Arla and Danish Crown export vast quantities of foods through the port at Esbjerg in Denmark to Immingham on the east coast of England and on to the UK market, and transports have a significant carbon footprint. The two food firms have now teamed up with DFDS and DSV to develop a new transport corridor to achieve climate-neutral food transports from Denmark to the UK (net zero) by 2030.

“The entire agricultural sector is currently undergoing a historic transition, and both Arla and Danish Crown have committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050. We can only achieve that by joining forces, and DFDS and DVS are of a similar mind. Together, we want to explore and develop the opportunities already available to us today, rather than wait for new technologies,” Bo Svane, head of logistics at Arla, said.

The scope of the transport corridor will gradually be expanded as the use of electric trucks, electric refrigerated trailers and the development of greener fuels are tested, phased in and scaled up, so that new technologies may be employed in transporting Arla’s and Danish Crown’s products by 2030.

“The partnership for the corridor fits hand in glove with our ambition to lead the way in the green transition of the food industry. We’ll be opening a new factory in the UK this autumn, and with the corridor in place by 2030, we’ll be able to offer our British customers food products that have been transported all the way from farms in Denmark to supermarkets in the UK without impacting the environment,” said Lars Feldskou, Group CPO of Danish Crown.

Having worked on developing the transport corridor during the past year, the four companies are now ready to launch a number of pilot projects. Specifically, Danish Crown plans to test the use of electric trucks to collect pigs, while DFDS and DSV will conduct a pilot test on the use of electric trucks and electric refrigerated trailers for transporting dairy and meat products to Esbjerg and for distribution in the UK. DFDS and DVS have been operating this freight route for many years, and they share the ambition to improve it and to reduce and gradually remove its climate impact.

“We’re excited to be one of four large companies teaming up for this project, in which we’ll not only promote but actually begin delivering on the green transition. We need to collaborate across the value chain to solve the climate crisis,” said Anders Michael Christensen, Vice President, DFDS Logistics.

The first charging points for electric trucks have already been installed at a few locations in Denmark, but many more are needed and with sufficient charging capacity to handle heavy-duty traffic, including at the harbour in Esbjerg and at Danish Crown and Arla locations in Denmark.

“A climate-neutral transport corridor needs not only commercial commitment but also the political will to expand the infrastructure. There’s no snap solution to solving the climate crisis, and that’s precisely why teaming up across sectors like we’re doing now is so important,” says Morten Kjærgaard, Vice President, DSV Road.

The companies will begin gathering data next year to measure the partnership’s effects on the climate.