A large proportion of CO2 emissions comes from goods transport. We are reducing environmental impact by using alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biodiesel and by using rail transport. In addition, we are reducing a portion of the emissions through climate protection projects.
In 2018, we were honoured with the Lean & Green Award. Thanks to our comprehensive and long-standing commitment, we have reduced our relative CO2e emissions in the area of transport and logistics by more than 30 % within eight years. In 2021, we were the first Swiss company to receive the Lean & Green Award Second Star.
Our extensive sales outlet network requires fine distribution by lorry, but we already rely on rail for more than two thirds of goods transport between our national and regional distribution centres.
Thanks to the concept of unaccompanied combined transport (UCT), we have been increasingly shifting our goods transport to rail since 2011. The goods are transported in swap bodies to the nearest railport and reloaded onto train compositions. From the destination railport, the goods containers are transported by road to the points of sale. This type of transport is also possible for shorter distances of up to around 90 kilometres. In our City Cargo Geneva project, for example, the goods are transported from the distribution centre in Aclens directly to the centre of Geneva.
This has a positive effect on the climate and can reduce traffic congestion on the motorways. Basic foodstuffs and wine from Italy have also been transported from Chiasso to our distribution centres by railCare UCT since 2014. Thanks to the combination of rail and road, we can transport around 3,000 more swap bodies per year.
We are increasingly using fuel made from biogenic waste so that we can also reduce CO2e emissions when transporting goods by lorry. We have already converted our filling stations at the distribution centres. The drivers at refuel their lorries with up to 20 percent biodiesel, which is produced from organic waste such as used cooking oil. Our new lorries all comply with the Euro 6 emissions standard and can be fuelled with 100 percent biodiesel. On average, our lorries already run on 40 percent biodiesel (as of 2023).
We have been operating Switzerland's first public hydrogen refuelling station in Hunzenschwil (AG) since November 2016. The sustainable hydrogen for the Coop Mineraloel AG refuelling station in Hunzenschwil is produced at the Eniwa AG run-of-river power plant in Aarau. The origin of the hydrogen is the decisive criterion as to whether hydrogen-powered vehicles are really environmentally friendly. The hydrogen must come from renewable energy sources in order to have a real environmental advantage over other energy sources.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles emit no CO2, no nitrogen or sulphur oxides and no soot particles. After propulsion, water vapour escapes, which falls to the ground as precipitation and thus remains in the water cycle. In order to help hydrogen mobility achieve a breakthrough on a global level, we have promoted the founding of the "H2 Mobility Switzerland" association. Its aim is to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Switzerland.
In 2016, we put twelve hydrogen-powered company cars and a first H2 lorry into operation. The twelve company cars are still on the road for Coop today. With the world's first H2 series lorry from Hyundai, which we put into operation in October 2020, we are continuing to rely on hydrogen lorries. By the end of 2020, seven vehicles of this model will expand our fleet and transport goods for Coop. The H2 lorry can travel around 400 km on a single tank of fuel. This means we save around 80 tonnes of CO2e per hydrogen truck per year.
In addition to the transport of goods within Switzerland, the air transport of goods from overseas also has a negative impact on the climate. Our internal guidelines state that goods may only be transported by air if this is not otherwise possible for quality reasons or due to time constraints. Goods that are flown in are labelled with a by-air sticker. Thanks to faster logistics processes and modern refrigeration technology, it is possible to transport more and more goods from overseas by ship.
Since 2007, we have taken responsibility for the air miles of our goods transport and business trips. We also take responsibility for the emissions caused by deliveries from our online shop coop.ch. To this end, we work with the WWF to develop projects in our value chains in accordance with the Gold Standard, the strictest existing standard for climate protection projects. In addition to climate protection, these must also benefit the local population. The Coop sustainability fund finances carefully selected climate protection projects with around CHF 2 million per year.
The construction of biogas plants in one of our rice-growing regions in India, for example, has reduced CO2e emissions by around 5 tonnes per plant per year. The provision of efficient cooking stoves in our rose-growing region in Kenya has also contributed to reducing CO2e emissions. Thanks to the stoves, the population needs to collect and burn less firewood. In this way, firewood consumption can be reduced by half. The reduction of harmful smoke indoors also has a positive effect on the health of the residents.
We have developed a similar project in the southern Chinese province of Sichuan and, together with the WWF, have introduced cooking stoves that reduce wood consumption by half. As a result, we save 224 hectares of forest per year, which is preserved for the giant panda. It also has less impact on the environment and reduces CO2e emissions.