SEVILLE – In Spain, when you think of a beer brand such as Heineken or Mahou, you may initially think of a cold beer on a terrace. As such, Heineken is investing considerably to be able to deliver this in a green way. Therefore, it is launching its latest project in Seville this week.
‘Última milla’ (last mile) is the name of Heineken Spain’s latest project and supplies beer in a completely green way. The beer brand has teamed up with Andalucian start-up Scoobic to design a fleet of fully electric scooter carts that deliver and collect beer kegs from bars and restaurants in the city. Until now, the delivery of beer is mainly done with large trucks.
Benefits for Spanish cities
Heineken Spain will kick-off of this project in Seville, but plan to also roll it out in other major cities. The goal of the beer brand is to completely eliminate the emission of more than 21,450 tons of CO2 per year in the city. The electric cars not only contribute to lower CO2 emissions, they also reduce traffic in the city, reduce noise pollution and improve health for residents.
Perfect for narrow streets in Spanish cities
The carts can carry a maximum of 500 kilos, eight barrels of beer, and they travel about 150 kilometres on a charged battery before they need to be recharged. These trolleys are ideal for the city; they are 1 metre wide and almost three metres long. In this way, they can drive through the narrowest streets and deliver and collect the barrels right in front of the door of catering establishments.
Heineken’s investment has already created more than 200 jobs for Scoobic. The electric cars will be on display in Seville from the end of September.
Paris climate agreement
With this initiative, Heineken Spain wants to contribute to the necessary objectives within the Paris climate agreement that the European Union has set for 2050. By this year, transport will have to generate 90% less emissions. “This is especially important in Spain because there are more than 24.5 million cars on the road and 82% of Spaniards live in the city. The initiative to drive completely green in the cities is a perfect starting point,” says Heineken.
Heineken itself aims to be completely CO2 neutral by 2040 in the entire chain around the world. Director Guillaume Duverdier of Heineken Spain tells news site Europa Press that his company has already succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions in the entire distribution chain by 23.4% in the past 10 years.
Another Spanish brewer also invests in the future
Heineken is not the only beer brand investing in a better future. Previously, the large beer brewer Mahou San Miguel invested his millions of profits in keeping catering companies afloat and in the Spanish lifestyle.
