Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, reached a milestone this month when its compressed natural gas (CNG) truck fleet logged more than 100 million miles driven on routes across the United States.
Frito-Lay noted that it first began leveraging CNG technology in 2011 when 16 CNG freight trucks were placed into service. Today, the Frito-Lay CNG fleet has grown to more than 500 vehicles, representing more than 35% of the company’s long-haul inventory, according to the company.
“Increasing the efficiency of our vehicle fleet is a key component of achieving PepsiCo’s overall goal to reduce GHG emissions,” said Michael O’Connell, senior director of supply chain, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division. “Alternative fuel solutions like Frito-Lay’s use of CNG freight trucks are an important piece of our overall strategy, helping us reduce our environmental footprint, meet changing consumer needs and thrive in today’s economy.”
Critical to the expansion of Frito-Lay’s CNG fleet has been the development of a national infrastructure for alternative fuel. There are currently 16 CNG public fueling stations around the country at which Frito-Lay is a major customer. These fueling stations not only provide fuel for Frito-Lay CNG freight trucks, they also make fuel available for other companies currently using or considering alternative fuel vehicles.
