green transports

Musti Group reaches their climate goals with renewable diesel

Emissions reporting is demanded by all logistics partners

Text: Anna Sand • Picture: Neste and Musti Group

Last year Scandic Trans introduced renewable diesel, HVO, as an alternative to all customers who are interested in lowering their transports’ effect on the environment. Higher and higher demands are put on both individuals and companies to lower their emissions and renewable fuels is a crucial factor for a sustainable logistics sector. Scandic Trans aspires to be at the forefront when it comes to the development within the industry.

– We had been looking for an alternative that lowers our own carbon footprint for quite some time, and among other things we considered gas cars, when the initiative to adopt renewable diesel was taken by one of our drivers, CEO Mikael Löfqvist opens.

A collaboration with Neste started and in the summer of 2020 the company was able to introduce Neste MY renewable diesel (HVO) as an alternative to all of the clients. The cost increase for using fossil free fuel is only 2-4 percent of the total shipment and does not require any investments in the vehicle fleet. – Neste MY renewable diesel, which is made only from waste and renewable raw material, leads to as much as 90 percent less emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2) compared to ordinary, fossil diesel, says Heidi Peltonen, manager of sustainable collaborations at Neste, the world’s biggest producer of renewable diesel. It can also be mixed with ordinary diesel – no investments and no modifications of the motors are needed – only a decision at the fuel pump, she adds.

More and more clients appreciate, or even demand, proof of sustainable measures from their logistics partner, and together with the customers who have chosen to switch to renewable diesel for their transports, Scandic Trans has had a very positive impact. – It became evident that our customers were able to take advantage of the measures in their marketing, Löfqvist tells us.

The willingness to pay for ”greener” transports has clearly increased during the past decade. According to the IPC Cross-border e-Commerce Shopping Survey as many as 47 percent wanted to have a carbon dioxide neutral delivery of products they order online already in 2018, and 62 percent of the Finnish transport companies are interested in lowering their emissions with renewable diesel.

– By being among the first to offer our clients HVO we can show others the way, and in that way we can speed up the development. If nobody does anything, change is not possible, Löfqvist states.

What choice the customers finally make has proved to be a generation issue and the personal attitude of the company leaders when it comes to climate issues are often what tips the scale. One of Scandic Trans’ clients who has chosen to switch to Neste MY renewable diesel for all transports is Musti Group. Musti Group is the Nordic countries’ leading pet ac-

Musti Group is the Nordic Countries’ leading pet accessories group and is operative in Sweden, Norway and Finland. This past year the corporate group has defined tangible climate goals and in order to achieve them they have among other things switched to renewable diesel for all their transports with Scandic Trans.

cessories chain, and operative in Sweden, Norway and Finland. With a turnover of 284 million euro and 293 stores as well as 1 160 employees, the transports make up an important aspect of the business.

– The role of the logistics has grown year by year and at the same time the number of kilometers has increased – as well as the emissions. Scandic Trans has been our logistics partner for almost two years and we have daily traffic from Sweden to Finland - we load one to two truck and trailers per day, Tuomas Lampinen, Transport and Logistics Operations Manager at Musti Group, tells us. – We looked at different alternatives in order to lower both the number of kilometers and emissions, and from our point of view the switch from fossil to renewable diesel was the quickest and easiest way to make a change, Lampinen continues.

Besides the switch to HVO, Musti Group has also restructured their stockholding in order to decrease the distance between warehouse and store, and thereby lower the number of driven kilometers in order to furthermore lower their emissions. The corporate group’s goal for 2021 is to lower the emissions caused by the transports with 10-15 percent compared to 2019. – When it comes to the transports with Scandic Trans, the switch to HVO creates a decrease of as much as 90 percent for the actual road transports on land, Lampinen adds.

Thanks to the reporting service that Scandic Trans developed in collaboration with Neste, the Musti Group receives additional emissions reports for every transported pallet. – Emissions reports and a plan for lowering the emissions is something we nowadays demand from all of our logistics partners.

With the reports there is concrete proof of the company’s sustainability work and responsibility when it comes to environmental issues. – The transporters that offer this today have had good timing – in a few years it may be too late to get onboard, Löfqvist and Lampinen believes.

The logistics companies can quickly switch to renewable fuel since Neste’s MY renewable diesel does not require any investments in the vehicle fleet – only a decision at the fuel pump.