South West Hauliers save carbon and money

A freight decarbonisation initiative in South West England has achieved a significant milestone

The collaborative project, led by Peninsula Transport and Western Gateway STBs with TEG’s Haulage Exchange platform, has demonstrated measurable environmental and economic benefits since its expansion. The initiative now includes 11 participating haulage companies across the region, with loads posted by companies for subcontracting reaching 1,906.

Key achievements from the updated pilot programme include:

• Environmental impact: 7,915 kg of CO2 emissions prevented through 9,195 miles of optimised return journeys
• Economic benefit: Total revenue of over £68,000 generated for participating local hauliers
• Operational efficiency: 65 loads successfully allocated to vehicles that would otherwise have travelled empty
• Regional coverage: Load matching across multiple regions, with the highest activity from Greater London (10 loads), South East (15 loads), and South West (23 loads)

The data reveals strong engagement from participating companies, with businesses joining throughout 2024 and demonstrating sustained activity. Bristol-based operators feature prominently amongst the most active participants, highlighting the project’s success in building a regional network of collaborative hauliers.

The project addresses the critical industry challenge of empty running, which accounts for approximately 30% of all haulage vehicle miles according to Department for Transport data. The most active freight lanes include routes from the East Midlands to Exeter (129 loads), West Midlands to Exeter (128 loads), and North East to Truro (115 loads), demonstrating how the platform is successfully connecting return journey opportunities across major UK freight corridors.

Peninsula Transport is a sub-national transport body, bringing together the five transport authorities in the peninsula; Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay to improve strategic transport and  transform the economic potential of the region.