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20 AUGUST 2008 - Euro 4 vehicles promise new standard in heavy transport emissions

Fonterra is trialling a new eco-friendly tanker in its milk collection operations that could significantly cut emissions in the company's 427 strong fleet which covers about 75 million km every year.

Fonterra's General Manager Milk Collection, Mike Foureur, says the trial of the DAF Euro 4 tanker with the latest Selected Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology would evaluate the performance and suitability of the trucks. They are expected to cut nitrous oxide (N20) emissions by 30% and particulates emissions by more than 80%. Fuel efficiency gains of up to 5% over Exhaust Gas Reticulation (EGR) technology will also be tested with the new-generation engines.

Mr Foureur said efficiency gains in Fonterra's milk collection over the past two seasons, from the introduction of an automated scheduling system, Genesis, and other initiatives had enabled six tankers to be taken out of the fleet - even though peak-day milk volumes have continued to rise.

"We are making real and substantial gains in efficiency, and when you put them across a fleet that travels the equivalent of 200 trips to the moon every year, that can make a big difference."

Mr Foureur said Fonterra introduced about 70 new tankers into the milk collection fleet annually and the 12-month Euro 4 trial would give the company real-world data about the performance and optimum set-up of the new trucks before purchasing decisions were confirmed. He said all new commercial vehicles brought into New Zealand from the beginning of 2009 would be required to meet this standard.

"We want to know the relative performance of the different technologies to reduce emissions and how they perform in our business - we want to get the very best outcome."

Fonterra tankers make about 2.4 million milk collections in a season, picking up about 80 million litres of milk on the peak day from dairy farms throughout New Zealand.

Mr Foureur said Fonterra was continually looking at ways to improve the efficiency of milk collection and reduce the company's environmental footprint. This included initiatives to increase the use of rail for milk transportation and the commissioning of milk concentration plants at our Culverden, Tuamarina which have each taken several thousand tanker movements a year out of the company's operations.

Fonterra has made significant environmental gains in other areas, recycling more than 5,000 tonnes of plastic, cardboard and paper and cutting total waste by 20% over the past year across its New Zealand offices and manufacturing sites. The savings bring Fonterra's total reduction in waste sent to landfill over the past five years to 84%.

Fonterra has also achieved its second major energy efficiency milestone in five years, cutting the amount of energy used to manufacture its products by 15% since the 2002/03 season.

The reduction - which is equivalent to the total annual electricity use of around 100,000 households and will cut carbon emissions by about 230,000 tonnes per annum - comes just two years after the company announced a 10% reduction in its energy consumption per unit of output. The latest savings represent an additional 5%.