Endorsing the United Nations' goal of limiting global warming to 2°C, as stated in the COP 21 Paris Agreements, and consistent with its purpose - "Serving the Earth", as announced in May 2021 - Avril commits to reducing its total direct and indirect* greenhouse gas emissions 30% by the year 2030.
Among the initiatives planned to achieve this objective, Avril announced its determination to accelerate the decarbonization of its supply chain, with an emphasis placed on improving the carbon footprint of its truck transportation. The company's objective is to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with its transport of goods with a 60% decrease by 2025.
Accordingly, in 2023, 50% of the Group's chartered truck fleets will run on Oleo100 and by 2025 this will increase to 100%. Oleo100 is the 100% renewable** B100 energy produced by the Group's oilseed processing subsidiary Saipol, using exclusively French origin rapeseed.
This commitment encompasses all of Avril's business activities across the Group's subsidiaries in France. This applies to its four priority markets: Specialties, Consumer Goods, Oilseed Processing & Renewable Energies, and Solutions for Agriculture.
More specifically, this commitment appears in the specifications of the service providers retained by Avril. It covers:
-
Inbound freight: for the transport of raw material to its industrial sites;
-
Outbound freight: for the transport of finished products to its clients, farmers, processors, and distributors.
This initiative was instigated by Lesieur, a subsidiary of Avril. Last July, as part of its membership in the FRET21*** collective initiative, Lesieur announced its ambition to decarbonize all of its transport by 25% within three years.
According to Jean-Philippe PUIG, CEO of the Group, "By 2023, all transport chartered by Avril in France will be committed to the Oleo100 initiative. This exemplifies the commitment of the Group and its partners to convert their fleets to a 100% carbon-free transport operation. This collective approach motivates our suppliers, as well as our upstream and downstream clients, to more effectively integrate the impact of transportation into their sustainable development strategy. Attentive to the concerns of our clients and consumers, it is also a sign of the commitment of our products and brands towards the preservation of the planet."
**This energy is 100% vegetable, renewable, and of French origin. In addition, it is available to all transporters of people and goods, whether private or public, to enable companies and local authorities to shift away from fossil fuels and to help improve air quality.
*** Supported by the Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), the Association of Freight Transport Users (AUTF), and backed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, the FRET21 system enables shippers to implement their action plan to reduce the environmental impact of their transport and to monitor their results over 3 years. https://fret21.eu/