Reducing GHGs by moving freight from land to sea

As a major food company, we transport a significant volume of temperature-controlled goods from the EU. Post-Brexit, these logistics faced a raft of new challenges, including long delays at UK ports. This impacted customer supplies, leading to increased costs for the business. To address this, we partnered with Denholm Good Logistics (DGL) to explore more cost-effective and sustainable alternative modes of transport for these goods to our Clitheroe sites.

The solution? Transporting a higher percentage of ambient and temperature-controlled goods by sea freight instead of road. Sea freight offers the benefits of economies of scale, as large volumes of goods can be transported at once, significantly reducing costs per unit. Container ships also use less fuel per tonne of cargo compared to trucks, leading to lower overall transportation costs.

In 2024/25, 84% of our raw material journeys to Clitheroe were made by sea and 16% by road. Not only did this lead to 17% cost savings compared to business-as-usual, but it resulted in a significant 76% reduction in GHGs. We’re looking forward to helping more sites transition from road to sea.