Asda steps up local sourcing

Value grocer Asda is to increase its number of local-sourcing hubs by 50 per cent this year, as it strives to strengthen its green credentials.

The hubs deliver locally sourced products to stores via a local distribution network, which has saved 7 million road miles in the past five years.

The supermarket opened its 11th hub in Nottingham in earlier this month and will add another four across the UK by the end of September.

Asda head of local sourcing Richard Pearson said: 'The success of our local hub initiative has been phenomenal. Not only does it signal a new way in which supermarkets can work with some of the smallest UK suppliers, it also reduces our overall carbon footprint, enables us to increase the amount of local products available to our customers and makes life much simpler for hundreds of local producers.'

Last year, the retailer made a saving of more than 22 million road miles over five years, by moving more of its food and clothing distribution from road to rail. The opening of a deep sea port facility at Teesport, Cleveland, also cut road miles by a further 2.5 million a year, avoiding the use of southern ports and shipping direct to the North by sea. The company also introduced double-deck trailers to increase efficiency and reduce road miles.