The goal of a new campaign, for which Volvo Trucks teamed up with the internationally renowned top chef Marcus Samuelsson, is to reduce CO₂ emissions in food transport.
Less Emissions
According to the manufacturer, around 19 percent of total emissions in the food and beverage industry are attributable to transport. How can these emissions be drastically reduced or completely avoided?
The campaign aims to show what sustainable transport can look like in this area—and motivate companies to adopt more environmentally friendly logistics solutions, according to the manufacturer.
Gourmet and Transport Challenge
Marcus Samuelsson has
already created dishes for international restaurants like the Red Rooster Harlem in New York City, where he cooked for President Barack Obama, among others. The highly-awarded chef has also been recognized as a television personality with an Emmy and is also active as an author.
He now faced the challenge of creating a gourmet dish with ingredients delivered exclusively by electric trucks or by trucks powered by renewable fuels.
“This was the first dinner of its kind, and I am thrilled to have been part of it. In this project, I had to look
at transport as an ingredient—it was the main actor! That’s exactly why this challenge was such a joy,” said Samuelsson. He added, “Because if we succeed, it can move the entire industry forward. Maybe one day every menu will state how the ingredients arrived at the restaurant—and that could become a new quality feature.”
What Ended Up on the Plate?
The menu included miso-glazed cod, cabbage, crayfish, cucumber salad, and a German Riesling. The ingredients for the dinner traveled a total of about 2,700 road kilometers.
86 percent of the distance was covered by
electric trucks with zero exhaust emissions, it says. And the remaining kilometers were covered by trucks powered by renewable fuels such as biogas or biodiesel.
“Our goal is to specifically address transport customers from the food and beverage industry. Because their decisions and demands have a significant impact on the direction and speed at which sustainable transport solutions develop,” explained Katarina Adamson, Head of Global Brand & Communication at Volvo Trucks.
For the project, numerous food and beverage manufacturers, producers, and transport companies collaborated—all were then invited to a special dinner at a restaurant
