Supermarket Delivers By Barge to Save Emissions
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA 
on 07.15.07
Sainsbury’s, the major UK supermarket chain, have not got too much coverage on TreeHugger so far, at least compared to their arch-rivals Tesco. Sure, we’ve covered their range of artist-designed reusable bags before, and their one day ban on plastic bags also got them some headlines. However, a quick search of our archives suggests that their goal of achieving 25% cuts in CO2 emissions by 2012 has yet to be covered by us. So far, highlights of this program have included a conversion to FSC certified sources for non-recycled own brand paper products, and a conversion of a fifth of the company’s online delivery fleet to electric vehicles.
Perhaps the most intriguing development in Sainsbury’s attempts to go green is their recent trial of using barges on the river Thames to deliver goods to central London stores [N.B. The picture above is not of the store in question. It does prove they have stores by canals though]. Apparently the intiative could save as many as 350,000 kilometers worth of truck journeys per years, were it to be rolled out as standard practice for the company’s London stores. It doesn’t end there, however, as the supermarket is also experimenting with delivering Scottish mineral water and Italian wine by rail. ::Sainsbury’s:: via The Globe and Mail::
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Barge is unbelievably efficient. New Jersey and New York were built on canals. The Morris, the Delaware Raritan, the Erie. And so enjoyable to travel on today. The Champlain in Quebec, the Rideau.
My grandfather used to lament that the government spent millions destroying the Morris Canal, because it threatened the profit of railroads, (although of course railroads could move more product more quickly, the built in costs were far higher.)
Every little thing helps. I wish them a million little successes in their attempts to reduce CO2 emissions.