Guinness unveils plan for zero emission transport
Guinness plans to have 70% of its Quality fleet as zero emission vehicles by the end of 2025, with the first of those taking to the roads this summer.
The company’s ultimate aim is to be 100% emission free by the end of the decade, a target which Diageo Ireland managing director Barry O’Sullivan hailed.
He said: “We’re really pleased to announce that we will be introducing the first zero emission vehicles into our Quality fleet from this summer. We are committed to reducing our indirect emissions through this initiative and want to play a key role for sustainable transport in the commercial sector across the island of Ireland.
“We are only 263 years into our 9,000-year lease on the St. James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin and we are in it for the long haul – for our people, our products and our planet, and we will never settle in pursuit of a better, more sustainable future for everyone.”
The announcement forms part of Diageo’s wider 10-year sustainability action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress, which outlines the company’s commitment to delivering net zero carbon emissions across its direct operations and a reduction in indirect emissions by 50%.
Guinness Transport through the ages – from horse and cart to zero emission vehicles
- 1759 – accommodation for stabling 12 horses was part of the 1759 lease
- 1873 – Jetty built at Victoria Quay to allow barges to travel up and down the Liffey
- 1877 – St James’s Gate railway completed with a link to Kingsbridge (Heuston) station
- 1901 – first motor vehicles used in the brewery
- 1913 – first Guinness owned ship purchased to travel from Dublin Port to UK
- 1951 – bulk road tankers were introduced to deliver Guinness in bulk to holding tanks in bottler’s premises around Ireland.
- 1953 – transportable tanks (14 barrel metal containers) were introduced to deliver Guinness in bulk to the Cross Channel trade via the Guinness ships.
- 1970s -further liquid bulk tankers were added, known as ‘silver bullets’
- 1961 – horses and barges last used
- 1993 – Guinness owned ships last used
- 2021 – First zero emission vehicle used in the brewery
