AS Watson, the Hong Kong-based international health and beauty retailer, has accelerated its sustainability efforts in its global supply chain by transitioning its delivery fleet to electric vehicles and launching initiatives in waste reduction to fight climate change.
“As a responsible global retailer, sustainability is at the heart of our business,” says Malina Ngai, Group CEO of AS Watson. “We’ve been investing and innovating to reduce our environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future. Our latest initiative focuses on making the delivery fleet of our supply chain more environmentally friendly. We operate 12 retail brands in our global portfolio, and 60% of them have started using electric vehicles for some of the warehouse-to-store and online order deliveries. While the adoption of electric vehicles is slow in the industry, I believe that we should take on the challenge to launch this initiative in as many markets as possible.”
A recent survey showed global direct carbon dioxide emissions from heavy- and medium-duty trucks increased by 2.4% to 1.8 billion metric tons in 2022, and they were responsible for around 25% of global transportation CO₂ emissions. The use of battery EVs can help alleviate the issues as they emit at least 63% fewer CO₂ emissions than a comparable diesel vehicle.
AS Watson has accelerated its efforts in adopting EVs in its global delivery fleet. The progress of Watsons China is significant, with EVs now accounting for over 80% of all warehouse-to-store deliveries on average in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chongqing and Xiamen.
For online order deliveries, Superdrug, Savers and ICI PARIS XL have started using electric vans and e-Cargo bikes in Central London and 13 emission-free zones in the Netherlands, respectively. Additionally, Watsons China, Singapore and Taiwan have introduced electric vans and motorbikes for their country-wide online order deliveries.
Meanwhile, Superdrug, Savers, Kruidvat and Trekpleister have also started to shift toward using greener fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), which generate fewer carbon emissions than traditional diesel fuel.
AS Watson also has made significant progress in waste reduction in its supply chain globally, successfully diverting over 95% of warehouse waste from landfills.