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Supermarket giant Morrisons believes it will be able to save around 17,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year through the use of double-deck trailers within its operation, Morrisons supply chain director Malcolm Basey reveals.

He told the Institute of Grocery Distribution's Supply Chain Summit that the 17 trailers it already has in its network, which are used for internal trunking operations running  between production sites and DCs, had improved load fill by 50%.

The company has since hired a number of additional units, and is looking to test them on store deliveries.

Although rivals such as Asda and Tesco have had some success using double-deckers, Basey said that Morrisons' bias towards food retail meant it cannot always make full use of the greater capacity.

He added: "Food tends to be heavier than non-food, so it's not as straightforward for us. It's not simply a case that if Asda can do it so can we."

The firm recently opened a new 900,000ft² RDC in Sittingbourne, Kent, which is supported by a frozen operation in Northfleet, to supply its stores in the South-East of England. It is currently handling 1.5 million cases per week, with a predicted rise to 1.7 million in the coming weeks.

Basey believes that due to the location of the RDC, it will cut vehicle movements for Morrisons by 22 million kilometres per year.

The  retailer says it will look to open a further new RDC to serve the South-West of England in 2011, and is likely to be located to the south of Bristol.