News & Monitoring

Ferrero France has made FRET21 one of its priority projects.

Category: portraits | Published on : 4/03/21

Ferrero France has made FRET21 one of its priority projects. The proposed approach also allows the teams to become familiar with and appropriate the actions in favour of the environment," adds Laurent Douchin. It also gives meaning to their daily work

PORTRAIT

Ferrero in France has once again signed up to FRET21, the Voluntary Commitment for the Environment - Transport and Logistics (EVE) programme for shippers. Officialised on 30 July 2020, this recommitment concerns a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions linked to the brand's goods flows in France by the end of 2022.

Ferrero France's commitment to the FRET21 scheme, in 2015 and again in 2020, is an integral part of the global confectionery and chocolate group's CSR strategy. Known internally as "Play for good", this approach to sustainability must benefit people, the planet and products. In order to act in favour of the planet, adherence to the FRET21 scheme is "one of Ferrero's priority projects in France", according to Laurent Douchin, head of Logistics France, who aims to reduce GHG emissions by 7% by the end of 2022. With our various brands (Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Mon Chéri and Tic Tac), we have significant transport flows, which can be multiplied by 6 during the peak seasons, and which account for 20% of Ferrero's carbon footprint," he says. The number of our logistics sites also fluctuates, as we can manage up to 10, compared to 5 in the low season . Ferrero's logistics in France are organised into three regional centres, in Normandy, Rhône-Alpes and Centre-Val-de-Loire. Approximately 700,000 pallets pass through these centres each year.

Act on Filling Rate
To reduce its carbon footprint, Ferrero France has identified several action levers within the framework of the FRET21 scheme, in agreement with Ademe. In addition to responsible purchasing, which involves encouraging its transporters to adopt the Objectif CO2 charter and label in order to achieve a 20% increase in flows handled by service providers with this profile, the company is focusing primarily on improving Filling Rate. " This area has the greatest impact on our greenhouse gas emissions ," says the logistics manager.
The ultimate goal is to limit the number of trucks on the road. Until now, some products were co-packed in the factories. The promotional packages were then transported to the logistics sites and sent back to the customers. Upstream, where the number of kilometres is greatest, we were transporting a lot of empty space," explains Laurent Douchin. We decided to delay this differentiation. These products are now co-packed on the logistics sites, as close as possible to the final delivery locations, and no longer in the factories. In this way, we save almost 1,000 lorries a year on this upstream transport. In addition, the company is working with various retail companies to set up backhauling systems to limit empty truck transport after delivery to shops by retailers.
Direct factory delivery is also being developed, particularly from the Villers-Ecalles factory in Normandy and the construction of a new automated storage building with 15,000 pallets.

Regaining confidence in road-rail
Announced by the new Prime Minister, Jean Castex, last August, the plan to win back the railways suggests that a new impetus for combined goods transport is emerging. Opting for this means of transport would allow us to reduce GHG emissions by up to 75%," says the logistics manager for Ferrero in France. But as our goods have to be transported at controlled temperatures (10 to 14°C), the choices are not as numerous as for others. The distances to be covered are a little longer, and the delivery times are also longer. So we are currently considering this issue. In March 2022, a new logistics centre in Normandy, which will centralise the activities of the four sites in the region, should see the light of day, and will undoubtedly allow us to look further into the feasibility of this solution.

The environmental approach gives meaning to the work of the teams
The group's desire to minimise its environmental impact throughout the value chain, from the choice of raw materials to the production plants, via the flow of goods between plants, logistics sites and shops, places the FRET21 programme at the heart of Ferrero's sustainability strategy in France. The proposed approach also allows teams to become familiar with and take ownership of actions in favour of the environment," adds Laurent Douchin. It also gives meaning to their daily work.