Health and beauty chain Boots is piloting a new fleet of electric vehicles for its pharmacy delivery and collection service in a bid to reduce the firm's impact on the environment.
Five Renault vans will be based at the company's headquarters in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, and initially serve customers in the county and Derbyshire.
It comes after the group announced in June its plan to roll out paper bags instead of plastic.
If this vehicle pilot project proves a success it could then be expanded to other areas of the country.
Eddie Storr, head of supply chain pharmacy at Boots UK, said: “Running over 9,500 routes a week with a van fleet of 900, we are continually looking at ways to improve both the efficiency of our service and its environmental impact.
"Over the last six months, we have achieved significant mileage reductions through better route planning and the next step on our journey is to reduce our carbon footprint is to introduce zero emission delivery vehicles.
"Following the launch in Nottingham, we are looking at other locations around the country to expand our electric fleet.”
The vehicles are fitted with technology which provides real-time engine analysis to help drivers improve their fuel efficiency and safety.
The pilot has been supported by Nottingham City Transport's Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle Scheme, which has created charging stations on the Boots site to power the vehicles.
It is estimated the vans could reduce Boots' environmental footprint by 22 carbon tonnes per year.
