Decarbonising fleets – what can be done today and in the future?

Claire Haigh, executive director at Zemo Partnership, reflects on the recent GREENFLEET Scotland event

Colleagues at Zemo Partnership had the pleasure to join the GREENFLEET, Transport Scotland and other speakers on the GREENFLEET Scotland tour, speaking to fleet managers in Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness.

The wealth of experience and expertise amongst not only the speakers but also the fleets, both public and private sector, and the initiatives being taken forward by local authorities was inspiring. Transport Scotland was also present setting out the future direction of transport as part of the low carbon economy in Scotland.

Delivering net zero emissions in road transport is going to be a complex dance aligning transformation of different sectors, bringing together the automotive sector, energy sector, charging and fuel distribution, to offer the right solutions for fleets to decarbonise. That’s why we at Zemo Partnership are developing a set of delivery roadmaps with key stakeholder buy-in and have established the Council for Net Zero Transport chaired by Lord Deben to ensure alignment at the most senior of decision maker levels.

A number of questions were being asked by fleet managers and these included:

What does the future of decarbonising road transport look like?

Net zero transport will involve the demise of non-zero emission vehicles on the roads of the UK. Legislation is already in place which will end the sale of non-zero emission cars and vans by 2035, and similar legislation is being planned for heavy duty vehicles. Although petrol and diesel vehicles will remain in the used market for years to come after that. This will see petrol and diesel vehicles progressively replaced by zero emission vehicles, most notably electric although hydrogen fuel cell vehicles may also play a role.  

How do I prepare for the that future?

The market for electric cars, particularly for fleets, is well underway although not perfect. Challenges for fleets focus on on-route and home charging for drivers taking vehicles home, and where vehicles need to be turned around quickly. Zemo Partners can provide information sources including: Energy Saving Trust fleet advice, BVRLA’s Van Plan and training resources provided by the Association of Fleet Professional.

But if there is one thing you should do if you as a fleet professional are doing to prepare to electrify your fleet, it should be to think where you’re going to charge them and speak to your regional electricity distribution network operator (DNO).

What about heavy duty fleets?

The legislative framework for heavy duty vehicles is still being developed but that is no reason for truck operators not to act to reduce emissions for their fleet today. The simplest way would be to consider greater use of sustainable fuels. Zemo Partnership has created of the Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) to provide vehicle fleet operators in the UK with an independent way to have assurance of the greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability of feedstocks in high blend renewable fuels, and works alongside the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).

There are a lot of practical measures fleets can take to move towards net zero transport. To hear more about the delivery roadmaps, the Council for Net Zero Transport and the RFAS visit www.zemo.org.uk.