Coca-Cola HBC Italia Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Ikigai to Decarbonize Emissions from Its Heavy Transportation

An innovative project in line with NET ZERO by 40, the commitment undertaken by the Coca-Cola HBC Group in 2021, to achieve net zero emissions along the entire value chain by 2040 

Milan, May 19, 2022 - Coca-Cola HBC Italia, the leading bottler of The Coca-Cola Company brand products in Italy, has announced that it has created a working group composed of energy transition consultant Ikigai Capital, green energy development company NVA and transporters: Italtrans, Number1, Casilli Enterprise and Favaro Servizi, to decarbonise its heavy-duty vehicles on the road with the aim of becoming a zero-emission company by 2040.

While the ultimate goal is to create a zero-impact procurement, investment and implementation of transport for vehicles, fuels and related infrastructure, the first phase of the project includes a feasibility study to understand the dynamics of road transport for Coca-Cola HBC Italia and consequently create a zero-impact network through alternative solutions, including the upstream and downstream infrastructure ecosystem needed to decarbonise the affected area.

Ikigai, together with NVA, will carry out a pilot project involving the creation of multi-fuel hubs for the supply of green fuels (including electricity, biomethane and hydrogen) and an ecosystem for the supply of zero-impact vehicles. The involvement of stakeholders (demand, supply, technology providers, financiers and government bodies) will be crucial given the number of challenges to decarbonise the road transport sector in Italy.

Manuel Biella, Supply Chain Director Coca-Cola HBC Italy said: "We know that there are important challenges to be faced to achieve net zero emissions in this area, but we also know that change is urgent and we want to lead it. This is why Coca-Cola HBC Italia is happy to support this project and our transporters on their decarbonization journey and to invest resources by becoming an example for a sustainable logistics sector".

Roberto Castiglioni, co-founder and CEO of Ikigai Capital, said: "We believe that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to decarbonise the transport sector, but that there are different solutions for different applications. That's why we started developing multi-fuel hubs in the UK and now we would like to export our model to Italy with such a forward-thinking customer as Coca-Cola HBC Italia. It's about understanding real-life challenges through data analysis, while maintaining a technologically holistic and independent approach. All this while providing added value to the different stakeholders of the project. In fact, we believe that there is no energy transaction without value creation".

Heavy road transport is in fact one of the so-called sectors that is difficult to abate. Carbon offsetting is under increasing scrutiny as it should only be used as a last resort to offset those areas that cannot be decarbonized. Other challenges that are making this sector one of the most difficult to decarbonise include the availability and cost of vehicles and fuel, as well as the lack of any upstream and downstream infrastructure network to support vehicle refuelling.