Loblaw Becomes First Canadian Retailer to Pilot Hybrid Class 8 Truck

Pilot an effort to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of the Company's transport fleet

BRAMPTON, ON, Aug. 25 /CNW/ - Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) announced today it is currently testing a Class 8 truck run by hybrid technology.  The pilot is in support of the Company's commitment to improve fuel efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of its corporate transport fleet.  As part of Loblaw's 2010 corporate social responsibility commitment, the Company set a target to improve the fuel efficiency of its corporate transport fleet by two per cent compared to its 2009 level.  

On the road since July, Loblaw is evaluating the hybrid truck's fuel efficiency throughout the Company's urban transportation routes in Ontario.  The pilot will measure the potential benefits that hybrid technology could have to its corporate trucking fleet.

"We constantly challenge ourselves in all areas of our business against our corporate social responsibility principles.  The hybrid truck pilot is one of the many initiatives undertaken in our supply chain to meet our fuel economy goals for 2010.  We believe we are on the right track to once again lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions associated with the transportation of goods to our stores," said Robert Wiebe, senior vice president, Supply Chain, Loblaw Companies Limited.  

The outcome of this pilot will help to determine the number of trucks within the Company's corporate fleet that can be replaced with hybrid technology in coming years.  Additional initiatives Loblaw has undertaken to improve fuel efficiency include the use of biodiesel, reducing truck idling times, installing side fairings on trailers and the use of multi-axle trailers allowing for the pulling of more weight from the same truck thereby reducing the number of trucks on the road.

About the Loblaw Pilot Hybrid Truck
The hybrid truck being tested by Loblaw was manufactured by Peterbilt Motor Company and contains a supplemental parallel hybrid power system.  The hybrid truck looks like most other transport trucks on the road.  The key difference is the hybrid system which helps the truck to accelerate from an idle. When the truck engages its braking system, electricity is created that is stored in the truck's battery to power the truck.   Many Loblaw banner stores are located in urban environments where there are many deliveries requiring starts and stops in traffic making it ideal conditions to test this type of hybrid technology.

"At Peterbilt we work hard to ensure our trucks are some of the cleanest, most fuel efficient vehicles on the road," says Matt Preston, Canadian fleet sales manager, Peterbilt of Canada. "We are always looking for ways to provide our customers with products that will reduce emissions, and provide the performance and economics that our customers need."

A commitment to Respect the Environment is one of five Loblaw corporate social responsibility pillars.  The other pillars include Source with Integrity, Make a Positive Difference in our Community, Reflect our Nation's Diversity and Be A Great Place to Work. For more information on Loblaw's corporate social responsibility efforts please visit www.loblaw.ca/csr.

About Loblaw Companies Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada's largest food distributor and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ over 138,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice(R), no name(R) and Joe Fresh Style(R) brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial(R) services and offers the PC(R) points loyalty program.

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For further information:

Loblaw Public Relations Department
905-459-2500 or [email protected]