LONDON — Britain is banning the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, starting in 2040.

The country is making the move to address air pollution, according to Reuters. It joins France, which announced in early July its own plan to ban sales of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles by 2040 and shift toward electric cars and trucks. Several cities, including Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens, have pledged to ban diesel-powered vehicles from their city centers by 2025 to address smog problems.

Britain’s government has been pressured to target air pollution after losing related cases in court, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives party promised to make “almost every car and van” a zero-emission vehicle by 2050.

In an interview with BBC Radio, Michael Gove, Britain’s environment minister, said, “There should be no new diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040.” Hybrid vehicles, which have an electric and internal-combustion engine, would not be included in the ban.

Today, less than 5% of new vehicle registrations in Britain are electric vehicles (EVs), according to Reuters. Faster adoption has been stymied by EVs’ higher cost relative to conventional vehicles and the limited state of the charging infrastructure.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, warned that the United Kingdom’s automotive industry could suffer if the government does not give it enough time to adjust to the transition. He also pointed out that Britain has only 12,000 public charging stations and would require upgrades to its power infrastructure to handle the greater demand.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Having pledged its support for San Francisco’s efforts, Oakland, Calif., lawmakers are moving forward with a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes and blunt wraps in the city, according to the East Bay Times.

With final approval expected in September, the City Council unanimously showed support on July 19 for a bill to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco after hearing from about 90 public speakers, the news source reported.

Cosponsors of the ban, Annie Campbell Washington, the city’s vice mayor, and Larry Reid, concil president, have said diseases related to smoking account for the majority of deaths in Oakland.

The vote in Oakland follows similar bans approved in San Francisco on June 20 and in unincorporated Contra Costa County, Calif., on July 12. A group representing tobacco industry stakeholders, vaping affiliates and a grocer association is collecting signatures to put a referendum measure on the ballot to reverse the ban in San Francisco.

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote Aug. 2 on a ban of the sale of menthol tobacco products in conveniene stores.

If the Oakland law receives a second approval, it would go into effect in 2018.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola Co. is reformulating and renaming Coca-Cola Zero in an effort to improve the flavor—i.e., better approximate the taste of regular Coca-Cola—and drive consumer sampling of the carbonated soft drink.

The no-calorie soft drink will now go by the name Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, touting its “new improved taste” on the label.

“More than 10 years ago, we launched Coca-Cola Zero with a revolutionary recipe that gave fans real Coca-Cola taste without the sugar and calories,” said Stuart Kronauge, business unit president or USA Operations and senior vice president of marketing, Coca-Cola North America, Atlanta. “The brand grew strongly after its launch and gained millions of loyal fans over time, but we recognized an opportunity to give the brand another boost and to encourage more Coca-Cola fans to try a great-tasting zero-sugar product.”

Launched in 2005, Coca-Cola Zero was a success early on, driving trial just as consumer backlash against high fructose corn syrup was reaching a peak. As consumer concern about artificial sweeteners, however, began to grow, Zero’s strength ebbed.

Now Coca-Cola is counting on taste to turn that around.

“We’ve used our in-house innovation capabilities to make the great taste of Coke Zero even better and a lot like a Coke,” Kronauge said. “To achieve this, we optimized the unique blend of flavors that gave Coke Zero its real Coca-Cola taste in the new and improved Coca-Cola Zero Sugar recipe.”

As the company continues to create new beverages and evolve its recipes, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar represents the company’s latest zero-sugar product innovation. It joins a roster of nearly 250 other no- and low-calorie beverages offered in the United States, the company said.

Coca-Cola’s U.S. launch of Zero Sugar is a change from rollouts in other parts of the world. In Australia, retailers were asked to stock both Coca-Cola Zero and what is called Coca-Cola No Sugar there. The requirement led one of the largest retailers in the country supermarket chain, Woolworths, to refuse to stock the new drink.

“Our customers looking for a no-sugar or low-sugar cola option have ample choice already in the category across a range of different pack sizes and formats,” a spokesperson for Woolworths told News Corp. Australia.

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar will be available on U.S. store shelves nationwide starting in August. The product launch will be supported through an integrated marketing campaign, including TV, digital, radio, outdoor, social media and retail advertising that will promote the brand’s Coca-Cola taste with zero sugar. Kicking off in September, the marketing campaign also will include an experiential sampling tour that will invite people in local communities across the country to try Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

MINNEAPOLIS — In June, two Minneapolis City Council members introduced an ordinance that would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and menthol, mint and wintergreen tobacco products in all retail stores except age-restricted tobacco shops. The reasons why this ordinance should not be enacted are numerous and would apply to virtually any city that considers this kind of restriction.

While one of the primary goals of the proposed ordinance is to prevent youth from using tobacco products, Minneapolis retailers have compiled an almost perfect record in preventing the sale of tobacco to minors. From June 2016 through May 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s retail-compliance checks conducted by the Minnesota Department of Human Services show that 398 out of 405 stores checked did not sell tobacco to an underage decoy, which is a 98.3% success rate. In short, retailers are a part of the solution to preventing underage tobacco use, not part of the problem.

According to actual industry sales data for 2016, the sales of menthol tobacco products sold by the 325 licensed stores in Minneapolis totaled  $73 million dollars. This equates to an average of $226,000 in menthol tobacco-product sales for an average store.

This means that the potential sales loss at an average convenience store is so large that there is a real risk that these retail stores will not be able to remain profitable. It is just not economically feasible from a business-model perspective to remain in business while incurring six-figure sales declines.

However, the sales losses will be even greater because customers will change their purchasing habits and drive to a neighboring suburb or city to buy not only their preferred menthol tobacco products, but also their gasoline, beverages and food items.

To quantify this loss of sales for the tobacco category and the food and beverage products, an economic study is being conducted to estimate the financial impact of the proposed menthol-tobacco ban ordinance on menthol-products sales, retailers, and employee jobs.

Currently, the 325 licensed retail stores employ approximately 3,200 staff people, many of whose jobs may be in jeopardy if the ordinance is enacted. That is the case because many convenience stores and corner markets in Minneapolis rely on menthol sales for 40%, 50%, 60% or more in gross store sales. A ban on the sale of menthol products would eliminate such a large percentage of business that retailers would find it very difficult to remain open. The first thing that would happen is a wave of job layoffs.

One final concern about the ordinance is that it would create the conditions for an underground market in menthol tobacco products. Since the ordinance would ban the purchase but not the possession or use of menthol products, criminals would be able to take advantage of the situation and sell menthol products from their car trunks or the back of a van without any regard to the age of the purchaser. This, in turn, would make underage youth access to tobacco much easier because these illegal sellers will not be concerned with asking to check identification to verify legal age status.
Based on all of these reasons, retailers have rallied around the message “Enough Is Enough, Minneapolis!”

The Health, Environment and Community Engagement Committee held a public hearing on the ordinance this week and a vote by the committee is expected on Aug. 2.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A former vice president of sales at truckstop chain Pilot Flying J, John “Stick” Freeman, and three other former Pilot Flying J employees have agreed to plea deals in the company’s diesel-fuel rebate fraud case and will cooperate with federal authorities in the ongoing investigation, according to court documents obtained by CSP Daily News.

Freeman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000 and more.

Court documents identify Freeman as the mastermind of the scam, by which trucking companies were promised higher rebates than they received. At his lake house in Rockwood, Tenn., Freeman conducted “breakout sessions” to instruct other Pilot Flying J employees on how to handle the multitiered rebate scam, according to an affidavit.

The other defendants who signed plea agreements, according to the court documents, are John Spiewak, regional sales manager; Vicki Borden, director of direct sales; and Katy Bibee, an account representative who worked directly with Freeman.

“We are saddened by news of the pleas of four people who worked for Pilot Flying J acknowledging that they participated in defrauding some of our diesel fuel customers,” a Pilot Flying J spokesperson said in a statement provided to CSP Daily News. “After learning of such improper activities more than four years ago, we made whole every customer negatively affected; entered into a criminal enforcement agreement with the government, which included a $92 million penalty; continued to cooperate with the investigation; and made policy, procedure and staff changes to make certain nothing like this happens again.

“It is Pilot Flying J’s commitment to be a great partner to trucking companies across North America, always focusing our undivided attention on the best interests of our customers, team members and business.”

Trial is set for Oct. 31 in Chattanooga, Tenn., for former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood, former Vice President Scott “Scooter” Wombold and Heather Jones and Karen Mann, former members of the sales team.

Ten other employees have pleaded guilty to a scheme to defraud interstate trucking-company clients by delivering less-than-agreed-upon diesel-fuel rebates since federal agents raided Pilot Flying J’s headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., in April 2013.

Pilot Flying J CEO and Cleveland Browns football team owner Jimmy Haslam has not been charged with any crime.

Pilot Flying J agreed to pay $92 million in fines and accept responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees while the government agreed not to prosecute the company. The agreement required Pilot Flying J to comply with several conditions, including cooperation in the investigation of people who may have been involved in the fraud. It did not protect any individual from prosecution.

Most of the lawsuits against Pilot Flying J were resolved by a class-action settlement, in which the company agreed to pay out nearly $85 million to 5,500 customers.

Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Flying J has more than 750 retail locations in 43 states.

SAN ANTONIO — Tesoro Corp. is the latest refiner to enter the newly deregulated Mexican fuel market.

The company has reached a definitive agreement for Professional Fuels Solutions S.A. de C.V. (ProFuels) to supply fuel and introduce the Arco brand in the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. The first Arco branded sites should open within the next 60 days.

ProFuels operates gas stations and has distributed fuel in northwest Mexico since 1991. Tesoro is planning to integrate supply to Mexico through its West Coast refining, marketing and logistics system, and for the Arco brand to become a market leader in Baja California and Sonora. 

Tesoro also signed a definitive agreement with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for terminaling and transportation services in Mexico, which will enable it to supply fuels in Sonora and Baja California. The refiner had gotten capacity this summer on Pemex’s oil products pipeline and storage terminals for northwest Mexico.

“We are very excited to begin operations in Mexico and to launch the Arco brand. This agreement furthers our strategic marketing integration and presents a tremendous opportunity to offer a high-quality fuel in a growing market,” said Greg Goff, chairman, president and CEO of Tesoro.

The refiner joins ExxonMobil and BP, which both entered the Mexican fuel market in 2017.

San Antonio-based Tesoro will be renamed Andeavor this August following its 2017 acquisition of Western Refining. It operates 10 refineries in the western United States with a combined capacity of approximately 1.2 million barrels per day. It also owns a logistics business with an interest in Tesoro Logistics LP and Western Refining Logistics LP and ownership of their general partners. Its retail marketing network includes 3,000 sites marketed under brands such as Arco, SuperAmerica, Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Conoco, Tesoro, USA Gasoline and Giant.

MINNEAPOLIS — After two hours of public testimony, the Minneapolis City Council announced it would delay voting on an ordinance restricting the sale of menthol, mint and wintergreen tobacco products to Wednesday, Aug. 2. The delay came after a council member left the crowded chambers, causing the council to lose quorum.

“I really apologize to everybody that came that we lost quorum. I guess I should own part of that responsibility that I didn’t point out to everybody what a long public hearing this was certain to be, if you’ve paid attention at all,” said Cam Gordon, the City Council member who, along with fellow council member Lisa Bender, wrote the proposed ordinance.

The ordinance would restrict the sale of all menthol-, mint- and wintergreen-flavored tobacco products and devices to tobacco shops. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately, though violations would not be enforced until August 2018. A $200 citation would be given for a first offense, doubling thereafter, along with a possible misdemeanor charge and license suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal.

The hearing drew more than 90 people, with others spilling into the hallway and a separate viewing room. More than 70 people signed up to testify both for and against the ordinance.

Many Minneapolis convenience-store retailers testified, urging council members to either vote no or postpone any action until more research is completed.

“We are your first line of defense for keeping tobacco from underage [consumers],” said one retailer, citing the 398 out of 405 Minneapolis c-stores that passed age-verification compliance checks by the Minnesota Department of Human Services from June 2016 to May 2017, according to the Coalition of Neighborhood Retailers.

The coalition has retained Management Science Associates to conduct two economic studies—one focusing on the economic impact of the partial tobacco flavor ban that passed Jan. 1, 2016, the second studying the economic impact of the menthol ordinance. The coalition expects the research to take approximately 10 weeks to conduct.

Prior to the public hearing, members of the Coalition of Neighborhood Retailers gathered in the lobby of Minneapolis City Hall for a press conference on the ordinance.

“This ban on the sale of menthol tobacco products is the last straw for us,” said Clay Lambert, owner of Metro Petro, during the press conference. “We would like to expand our business into other neighborhoods. However, this looming threat of the banned tobacco products and the amount of revenue we would lose would make this very difficult, and our banks are very leery to invest in us.”

If the ordinance is approved, sale of menthol, mint and wintergreen tobacco products would be restricted to tobacco shops, defined as retail establishments that derive more than 90% of gross revenue from the sale of tobacco products, and that prohibit entry by people under the age of 18.

Follow CSP Daily News for more details on the public hearing.

Photograph by David Bowman

CHICAGO — A Cook County, Ill., judge has extended a temporary restraining order blocking a pending soda tax for at least another week.

Judge Daniel Kubasiak heard arguments in the case on July 21 and said he will rule on the issue on Friday, July 28.

The restraining order was put in place June 30—a day before the tax was to begin—at the request of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which is claiming the tax is too vague and unconstitutional.

Cook County officials adopted the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on all beverages to raise money for its general fund. The county anticipated the tax would raise more than $67 million this year and $200 million in 2018.

Since implementation of the tax was delayed, the county has issued more than 100 layoff notices of county workers and threatened 1,000 more, saying they cannot afford to pay the salaries without the new tax income.

So-called soda taxes are becoming more popular for cities across the country as ways to either reduce consumers’ sugar intake, to raise revenue or both. Currently, sugar-sweetened drinks are taxed in five U.S. cities: Berkeley, Albany and Oakland, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; and Philadelphia. New taxes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018, in San Francisco and Seattle, making Kubasiak’s ruling a significant indicator of how soda taxes will progress in the future.

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey is the third state in the nation to raise the age at which a customer can legally buy tobacco products to 21, according to NorthJersey.com.

Only California and Hawaii have similar age restrictions. New Jersey’s age change will take effect Nov. 1.

Signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie on July 22, the new requirement bumps up the minimum age for buying and selling both tobacco and electronic-smoking devices from 19 to 21.

Younger people don’t “fully comprehend the potential for addiction, as well as the devastating long-term effects smoking can have on their health,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a co-sponsor of the bill, according to the news source. Raising the purchasing age, she said, will enable them to “mature more before making this potentially life-altering decision.”

GREENCASTLE, Pa. — Four convenience stores with gasoline in Greencastle, Carlisle, Hummelstown and Mechanicsburg in south-central Pennsylvania are up for sale by an undisclosed seller.

NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC is coordinating the sale for the Keystone State-based small, multiunit convenience retailer and branded fuel jobber.

Lot sizes range from 23,000 square feet to 2.6 acres, while store sizes range from approximately 1,196 square feet to 3,250 square feet. All of the properties offered are fee-owned.

The stores are being sold without fuel supply, although three are branded Gulf and one is branded Sunoco, and all are being sold without c-store branding.

NRC will sell the properties using its “buy one, some or all” sealed-bid sale process. Information regarding submitting offers is available online at www.nrc.com/1714. Property-specific packages (PSPs) are available now, and the bid deadline is Aug. 22, 2017.

Chicago-based NRC provides an array of real-estate and financial advisory services to the convenience-store and petroleum industries and specializes in the accelerated sale of commercial real estate. It offers portfolio evaluation and analysis; refinancing, recapitalization and sale-leaseback financing options; and merger and acquisition advisory services. Since 1989, NRC has sold more than 15,000 properties. Clients include Sunoco, 7-Eleven, BP North America, Circle K, Global Partners and RaceTrac.