Innovating the way we distribute our products is one of Brasil Kirin's strategies to increase operational efficiency, ensure sustainable business continuity, and generate shared value. This is achieved through three modalities: Backhaul, Cabotage, and Road Train. Have you heard of any of these? In addition to the economic impacts for the company, these initiatives also reduce CO2 emissions, delivering benefits for me, you, and the entire planet.
Thousands of trucks crisscross the country from north to south transporting goods. Many arrive at their destination, unload their products, and return empty to their base, resulting in waste across the board. Faced with this situation, Brasil Kirin partnered with major retail chains to improve the utilization of these vehicles.
After supplying their stores, the vehicles would return empty to the Distribution Centers (DC) of the large retail chains, but in this operating model the trucks travel to one of the company's units close to their route, collect their orders and transport the products to the destination DC.
This operating model, called backhaul and active in Itu (SP), Igrejinha (RS), Alagoinhas (BA), Recife, and Igarassu (PE), it avoids hiring new freight and empty vehicles. This fleet sharing contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Another impactful measure for logistics was the inclusion of road trains, double-trailer vehicles measuring between 25 and 30 meters in length, in Brasil Kirin's fleet. With greater load capacity, they streamline transportation, reducing trips by 31% compared to a conventional truck, in addition to reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 10%.
Exploring maritime transport is also one way to increase operational efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. As of November 2016, cabotage was used for 24% of shipments of products manufactured in the South and Southeast regions and destined for the North and Northeast, contributing to a reduction of over 70% in greenhouse gas emissions.
Another important initiative is the investment, since 2014, in the purchase of eco-efficient refrigerators, which will gradually replace all Brasil Kirin freezers at points of sale (bars, restaurants, supermarkets).. More than 31,000 refrigerators were purchased, and 80% of these are already on the market, reducing CO2 emissions by 14 tons in 2016, in addition to reducing the daily energy consumption of each unit by 15%. In 2016, 100% of the refrigerators purchased were the most environmentally friendly model.
You've probably already noticed that at Brasil Kirin, sustainability permeates every stage of the business. We've cited examples of product distribution and display at points of sale, but we don't stop there. We believe in projects and initiatives with shared value that reinforce respect for the environment, and a great example of this is our partnership with the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, one of the company's main initiatives to ensure the preservation of natural resources and promote environmental education. With the capacity to produce 750,000 seedlings annually, since 2007, the SOS Mata Atlântica Forest Experiment Center – Brasil Kirin, located in Itu, has cultivated more than 4 million seedlings of over 100 native Atlantic Forest tree species. This is equivalent to restoring an area larger than 2,285* soccer fields (2015 data).
*SOSMA's methodology considers planting 2,500 seedlings for every 10,000 m² and a football field is equivalent to 7,000 m².
If you liked it and are interested in learning a little more about our actions, visit www.brasilkirin.com.br or read the 2015 Sustainability Report.
