New low CO2 options needed

Fleet buyers from the public and private sectors have made a commitment to work with suppliers to help drive the development of low carbon vehicles and fuel.

The new initiative, spearheaded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, will demonstrate demand for low to zero carbon products in transport, as well as catering and renewable energy.

It will be led by the ‘fleet compact’ and involve a range of organisations, including BT, EDF Energy, BSkyB, Lex Autolease, Anglian Water and the Government Procurement Service. They have identified a need for low emission vehicles that offer range and refuelling times comparable to tradiotionally-fuelled vehicles, and hope their combined buying power will pave the way for vehicles that are fit for purpose.

Lois Trailor, head of fleet operations at BSkyB, said: “Currently, there are few viable commercial vehicle alternatives to using biodiesel that match our requirements.

“Our internal focus is on van efficiency and the use of telematics to reduce emissions. Although this and other measures are having a positive impact in cutting emissions, we are conscious that they will not deliver the reductions we need. New options are required.”

However, organisations signed up to the fleet compact say the price and performance must be competitive with conventional vehicles on a wholelife basis, while there also needs to be a low-carbon fuel and fuelling infrastructure, with a view to becoming zero carbon in the future.

Martin Chown, director of government procurement projects at the Government Procurement Service, described the initiative as a “fantastic opportunity”.

He added: “Transport need in the public sector is diverse, but we’ve already been successful in lowering emissions; what we’re looking for now is a step change.”

Peter Simpson, managing director of Anglian Water, continued: “We need a fleet of cars, vans and tankers which are not only low to zero carbon, but that can also do longer ranges. It’s key to our operation.”

Fleets have embraced the carbon cutting agenda over recent years, but current ultra-low emission vehicles remain a niche option for many, despite the lofty ambitions of British Gas to have 1,000 electric vans on its fleet by 2015 (Fleet News, May 10).

Range and cost remain key barriers to their early adoption and Rob Anderson, programme manager at the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies (CENEX), recognises the dilemma for fleets.

“It’s clear that deploying low carbon vehicles is a complex decision,” said Anderson, who was speaking at the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership’s annual conference.

“If the economics, the operation and the cost of ownership doesn’t stack up then there is really no point in doing it.”

Dale Enyon, head of fleet operations at the Environment Agency, has been charged with driving down the emissions of his fleet and has already made great inroads, cutting mileage by 1.6 million in the past three years and bringing the average emissions of the car fleet down to 122g/km.

However, he told delegates at the Low CVP conference that the current high cost of ultra-low emission vehicles was proving “prohibitive”, especially when he has to “balance carbon versus cost”.

Nevertheless, the fleet sector has responded pretty well over recent years to the various tax and fuel incentives introduced to try and reduce emissions.

BVRLA chief executive John Lewis said: “The biggest success has been the company car tax regime. It’s ensured that the average fleet car purchased in 2011 had CO2 of just 137g/km compared to a total market of 140g/km.

“That’s moved considerably over the past five years and even as recently as three years ago it was 148g/km.”

The Department for Transport continues to provide incentives in terms of the plug-in grants for cars and vans for those vehicles currently available.

However, the Treasury appears not to be displaying the same enthusiasm with changes made to benefit-in-kind tax brackets in March’s Budget.

Still, Chris Chandler, senior fleet consultant at Lex Autolease, believes the current reluctance to relinquish fossil fuels is starting to loosen and as the understanding of the benefits increase it will translate into demand.