Sysco to acquire hundreds of Freightliner electric trucks

Sysco Corp. is making good on its pledge to convert a third of its fleet to electric trucks.

Houston-based Sysco plans to acquire hundreds of Freightliner eCascadia electric trucks, according to Daimler Trucks North America. The foodservice distribution company’s announcement comes several months after pledging to reduce emissions by 2030.

According to Daimler Trucks, Sysco signed a letter of intent to deploy up to nearly 800 eCascadia electric trucks by 2026.

Daimler Trucks plans to deliver Sysco’s first eCascadia to its Riverside, Calif., facility later this year.

Last November, Sysco announced its goal to reduce emissions across its global operations and the company’s entire value chain. According to the company, its “science-based emissions reduction target aligns with the Paris Agreement.”

Sysco’s plan addresses Scope 1-3 emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scope 1 emissions are “direct greenhouse emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization.”

Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat or cooling. Although occurring at the facility where they are generated, Scope 2 emissions are accounted for in an organization’s greenhouse gas inventory because they are a result of the organization’s energy use. Scope 3 emissions “are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain.”

Sysco’s goal is to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by nearly 28% within the next eight years. The company also wants its suppliers that cover two-thirds of its Scope 3 emissions establish similar science-based targets by 2026.

Efforts to address Scope 1 and 2 emissions will partly come in the form of moving 35% of the company’s U.S. tractor fleet to electric trucks by 2030.

Sysco claims that is the equivalent to adding nearly 2,500 electric trucks to its fleet. Its recent letter of intent with Daimler Trucks puts Sysco a third of the way to that milestone.

Similar efforts were proposed by a group of UPS shareholders. Green Century Capital Management submitted a proposal during UPS’ annual meeting to adopt independently verified science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. However, nearly three-quarters of shareholder votes opposed the proposal. LL