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As part of Asahi Beverage’s sustainability plan, Australia’s iconic VB is being loaded into the back of electric trucks for its Melbourne deliveries. 

The new Volvo FL truck will be fully powered by 100 per cent offset solar power, drawn from parent company, Asashi Beverages’, solar farm near Mildura, Victoria. 

The VB truck is the first mass-produced electric truck by Linfox, which can travel for up to 250 kilometres before needing to be recharge. 

Asashi Beverages CEO Robert Iervasi said it was a stepping-stone towards more sustainable practices. 

“It is the first of many electric trucks that will deliver our beer. Transitioning our deliveries to electric vehicles will help us achieve our ambitious sustainability goals of reducing our net carbon emissions across our entire supply chain by thirty per cent by 2030, and to zero by 2050,” Iervasi said. 

The trucks will deliver up to 100,000 cans and stubbies each week from Asahai’s distribution centre in Melbourne’s west to bottleshops across the city. 

Linfox chair Peter Fox said Australia’s domestic freight doubled in the last ten years, which meant the road fleet also had to grow. “It is important to introduce environmentally friendly methods to match the ongoing demand for an increase in road fleet. The majority of Linfox’s carbon emissions come from transportation tasks. 

“As we continue our journey to act sustainably and achieve zero net emissions by 2030, the way we operate will change in response, with more electric vehicles planned for our fleet and increased use of rail transport where viable,” Fox said.

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