TORONTO -- Loblaw takes great pains to run green, in every nook of its corporate activities. When it comes to its fleet, that means a wide range of modifications, including bunk heaters to minimize idling; multi-axle trailers and super singles wherever possible, and retreading tires at a rate, in 2009 leastways, of 80 percent.

Now, Loblaw recently introduced a test hybrid Peterbilt 386 to its southern Ontario routes. Operating since July, it’s supposedly the first class 8 hybrid in Canada.

The truck is part of a corporate commitment to improve the fuel efficiency of its transport fleet by two per cent compared to its 2009 level.

The company will monitor the truck's fuel efficiency throughout all its urban transportation routes in Ontario. The outcome of the pilot will help to determine the number of fleet trucks the company can eventually replace with hybrid technology. 

Loblaw sets off on green mile with class 8 hybrid Pete

The 2008 Pete combines aerodynamics with fuel-efficient hybrid technology and almost every known bell ’n’ whistle, including a two-pedal Fuller Ulstrashift, for on-highway and bottom line performance.

The Eaton hybrid power system recovers energy usually lost during braking and stores it in batteries for later use. That electricity is then sent through the motor/generator and, blended with engine torque to improve vehicle performance, operates the engine in a more fuel-efficient range for a given speed and/or only with electric power in certain situations.

The system’s batteries power the heating, a/c, and electrical systems when the engine is off. When the idle reduction mode is active, engine operation is limited to battery charging, an automatically controlled process that takes approximately five minutes per hour to fully charge the system.

"We believe we are on the right track to once again lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions associated with the transportation of goods to our stores," said Robert Wiebe, Loblaw's senior vice president, Supply Chain.

Additional initiatives Loblaw has undertaken to improve fuel efficiency include the use of biodiesel, reducing truck idling times, installing side fairings on trailers and the use of multi-axle trailers allowing for the pulling of more weight from the same truck thereby reducing the number of trucks on the road.