XPO and Saint-Gobain Drive Sustainable Construction Growth

Saint-Gobain, the global leader in light and sustainable construction materials, is adding six new Volvo fully electric HGVs to its fleet operating in the UK in partnership with XPO Logistics, a leading provider of innovative and sustainable end-to-end logistics solutions across Europe.

According to XPO Logistics’ proprietary intelligence technology, which calculates emissions savings, the investment in these six eHGVs will reduce CO₂e emissions by almost 800,000 kg per year, equating to 3,530 tonnes over the five-year term of the UK Government Zero Emission HGV & Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme.

This is equivalent to the emissions produced by 2,353 UK households.

Advanced infrastructure and rapid charging

Saint-Gobain and XPO Logistics have also partnered with Gridserve to create a ‘back to base supercharging’ infrastructure at the Saint-Gobain Logistics Hub at Gotham, Nottinghamshire. The six charging points will charge the eHGVs to 80% in just 90 minutes and fully charge them in under two hours.

Dean O’Sullivan, CEO of Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland, says: “Trialling six zero-exhaust emission HGVs across the Midlands is another step forward for us. The extended operational trials of the all-electric vehicles are part of our wider journey to reduce the impact of our business and ultimately meet our goal to be a net-zero carbon business.

“We’ll be working closely with customers during this period and our drivers to get their feedback and see how all-electric HGVs at scale can fit into our logistics service offer. We’re excited to see what’s possible as we push for cleaner, smarter deliveries that support our customers.”

Strategic collaboration for net-zero goals

Saint-Gobain and XPO Logistics have been working closely on the electric HGV project for more than 18 months as part of the ZEHID project to bring ‘Zero Carbon’ deliveries to Saint-Gobain customers, with the first trial deliveries beginning in Q2 of this year.

The innovative programme will see a ‘real world’ test of ‘zero emission’ electric HGV trucks over a five-year period, working in partnership and collaboration to make more than 12,000 customer deliveries for Saint-Gobain and avoiding more than 3,500 tonnes of Co₂e in the process.

This facility at the Gotham hub will support customer deliveries from both British Gypsum East Leake and the Saint-Gobain Midlands DC during the five-year programme, aiming to achieve two delivery cycles per vehicle per day across the Midlands.

The ZEHID programme was officially launched in October 2023, when the UK Government announced £200m (US$268.5m) in funding to support innovative ‘green’ projects to roll out zero-emission HGV trials. HGVs alone account for 20% of all transport emissions across the UK, so cutting these emissions as much as possible will have a significant positive impact.

Expanding the electric fleet across Europe

The six eHGVs ordered from Volvo will include five tractor units and one rigid unit, which will begin operating on the UK’s roads between April and June this year.

Abdi Ali, National Key Account Manager at Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, says: “As part of our long-term partnership with XPO Logistics, we are constantly looking at ways to modernise and improve the environmental impact of its fleet.

"The addition of the six new Volvo FM Electric trucks marks another step forward and demonstrates XPO Logistics’ confidence in the technology.

“It is hugely rewarding to see our zero-tailpipe emission solutions supporting forward-thinking companies like Saint-Gobain and XPO Logistics – organisations with a clear vision of their sustainability strategies, who are acting now to drive towards a cleaner and greener future.”

Dan Myers, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain – Europe, XPO Logistics, says: “This is the latest effort in our joint goal of doing business in a responsible way, working towards our shared target of reducing our emissions to zero with Saint-Gobain. This initiative moves us a significant step closer to sustainable construction.”

Outside the UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics also works closely with Saint-Gobain across Central and Southern Europe and Africa, specifically in Morocco, Spain, France and Portugal, providing end-to-end logistics.

The partnership enables top-class logistics management for Saint-Gobain across a wide range of building products, including building glass, high-quality insulation materials, the specialist transport of construction chemicals, fibreglass and reinforced fibres and natural fibres, plus performance ceramics and refractories.

In every country, the partnership is working to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net-zero operations in the most efficient way possible while maintaining exceptional customer service.

For example, XPO Logistics will deliver the first electric truck to the Saint-Gobain Building Glass fleet at its Gennevilliers site in France next month. Regarding decarbonisation, XPO Logistics’ global offer for decarbonisation solutions has helped Saint-Gobain in France save 1,900 tonnes of CO2 by 2025, as per the calculation performed according to the ADEME standard (comparison between the carbon emissions of diesel versus those of HVO "Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil").