Clean Van Commitment

Leading the way to zero emission vans

The Clean Van Commitment (CVC) provides momentum and much needed clarity for the fledgling electric van industry.

Overcoming the issue of pollution from van fleets needs a team effort. We need new electric models coming to market, fleet operators to adopt them, and the charging infrastructure and clean electricity supplies to fuel them.

We asked industry what would help to reach the first milestone of 1% of the UK’s van fleet going electric. Knowing where and when electric vans will join fleets was one part of the answer.

The Clean Van Commitment signatories have made their demand for electric vans clear to the market, and provided an invitation to central and local government, and the energy sector, to work through the barriers to adopting electric vans in their real-life scenarios.

We should thank the CVC signatories for their bold leadership, which will reduce the pollution burden on society, and also improve the air quality for their drivers and depot staff. Many thanks also to Engie without whose support we could not have coordinated this initiative.

If your large fleet would like to help the industry take another leap forward toward cutting out all tailpipe emissions from the four million vans on the UK’s roads, I am pleased to invite you to also join the CVC.

We are proud to have partnered with Global Action Plan to develop the Clean Van Commitment (CVC) and to be supporting their work in this important area.  

Improving air quality is becoming an increasingly significant issue and the CVC both raises awareness and provides action to contribute towards tackling air pollution associated with transportation across UK cities and urban areas.

Aside from the environmental imperative and societal demands, rapid advancements in technology are making a switch to electric vehicles (EVs) more viable than it was even just a few years ago.

I hope that the momentum behind the CVC will continue to inspire and motivate other businesses who operate significant van fleets to prioritise this issue and join us in tackling air pollution.

It is only by continuing to raise awareness of the importance of solving the air quality crisis and from collective action by all stakeholders in society that we can make change happen. Only together can we achieve the positive outcomes required to clean the air around our homes, our schools and our places of work - which will ultimately benefit us all.

For these reasons I urge you to join the CVC and help to make a lasting difference.

Foreword

Chris LargeSenior PartnerGlobal Action Plan

Wilfrid PetrieCEO ENGIE UK & Ireland

The Clean Van Commitment is a collective statement from the largest van fleet operators declaring that the UK is ready to speed up the switch to zero emission vans

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Statement of intent

Air pollution is a major public health issue which can be solved. Society can ensure we all have cleaner air by finding cleaner ways of transporting goods and people around our towns and cities.

As the operators of the largest van fleets in the UK, we recognise our opportunity to lead the clean-up of the 3.7 million vans on the road in the UK.

Collectively, as of 3 September 2018, our 16 fleets contain 18169 vans. Reducing emissions from these vans is a good start and can pave the way for others, such as individual van owners to follow. Together we are replacing 2,389 zero tailpipe emission vans by 2020 to lead this movement.

We support the transition to vans that cause zero tailpipe emissions in cities to protect the health of the communities we serve. We believe it is possible that all vans in cities could be switched to zero tailpipe emissions by 2028 and aim to make that ambition in our own fleets.

To achieve change in the national fleet, we operators can’t travel alone. Many organisations will need to work with us and create change at a swifter pace than the current rate at which vans are replaced, with cleaner models or alternative forms of transport.

To spark an urgent change in the van market, we have each declared the number of zero emission vans that we would like to buy or lease for our van fleet by 2020.

This collective signal shows vehicle manufacturers that the UK market for clean vans is real, and will help government, local authorities and energy providers plan appropriate supporting infrastructure and policies.

The support that van fleet operators seek to enable us to reach zero tailpipe emissions from all of our vans in cities by 2028 includes:

1 Vehicle manufacturers provide the number and variety of vans to meet our fleet needs

2 National charging infrastructure is sufficiently accessible and reliable to support our network of vans in their daily routines

3 Permissions are provided for depot charging infrastructure to be added to our sites to provide the electricity to fuel our vans*

4 Power networks provide enough energy at the right time to support our fleet charging needs*

5 Renewable non-polluting electricity is generated to ensure that electric vans are fuelled with clean power and emissions are not just shifted from the van to the power station*

Together, we could save the NHS and society £270 million a year if we all took action and made the move towards zero tailpipe emission vans. We have signed the Clean Van Commitment with the collective aim of zero tailpipe emissions from our vans in cities by 2028.

*The commitment supports the transition to all types of zero tailpipe emission vehicles. These points refer to the organisations that are transitioning to electric vehicles.

A promise from the Clean Van Commitment signatories

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First signatories to the Clean Van CommitmentAir pollution is an issue that impacts upon everyone and we are proud to have partnered with GAP to develop the Clean Van Commitment. In a programme we began last year, by 2020 ENGIE will introduce 395 electric vehicles, which is over 20% of our fleet and we will also ensure that none of our 1,800 vehicle fleet is diesel by 2025. ENGIE provides green mobility solutions across the world including alternative fuels, transport infrastructure, smart transit systems and upstream design, consultancy and planning. Our internal commitment also involves an investment of more than £600,000 into building an infrastructure to support the electric vehicles, including charging points at our key UK offices, customer sites and in the homes of our employees.

Abel & Cole runs a refrigerated fleet of 3.5 tonne diesel vans delivering fresh organic produce across the country. We have trialled different fuel types over the years but because of operational or legislative limitations we haven’t found anything that fits our model. Focus therefore has been on the driver and the routing to make sure that we are as low impact as we can be. We have achieved industry leading MPG figures through incentives and training but to move to the next level of excellence we are committed to finding an alternative fuel for the van fleet as well as working on new and innovative styles of delivery.

We are delighted to pledge our commitment to the Clean Van Statement of Intent going forward. As a responsible business, we want to ensure we do everything we can to reduce our fleet emissions and carbon footprint, with the aim of being completely carbon neutral by 2050.

We have recently installed our first electric vehicle charging points at some of our main sites for our staff to use, which is an exciting first step, and we’re now looking into where electric vehicles could be used as part of operational fleet. A future using electric vehicles wherever possible is a great step towards cutting carbon emissions.

Jamie Quinn, Corporate Responsibility Director, ENGIE UK & Ireland

Ben Reardon, Operations Director, Abel & Cole

Stewart Lightbody, Head of Fleet Services, Anglian Water

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The impact of poor air quality on life expectancy and respiratory health is considerable, especially for those living and working in urban environments, and is a big strain on the NHS and other services. No fleet manager should want to run a commercial vehicle fleet that contributes to this problem. Defra Group Fleet Services are working to significantly reduce the emissions from the Defra fleet by greatly increasing the use of alternatively fuelled vehicles. We believe the technology has reached a point that we can do this, with little impact on operational ability or costs

Gateshead Council’s Fleet department continues to review operations with the aim to make Council driving both safer and greener. Practices and procedures aim to reduce fleet mileage, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Becoming one of the first Clean Van Commitment signatories is an important part of this.

As a local authority and one of the city’s largest employers, Leeds City Council believes that we share a responsibility, alongside businesses and residents in Leeds, for reducing air pollution and protecting the health of everyone in our city.

We’re very proud to be a part of the Clean Van Commitment. Our ambition is to fully transition our fleet to zero or ultra-low emission vehicles by 2025, which we know will have a massively positive effect on the health of our employees and the local community.

Dale Eynon, Deputy Director, Defra Group Fleet Services

Graham Telfer, Fleet Manager, Gateshead Council

Cllr James Lewis, Deputy Leader, Leeds City Council

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We want to do our part in tackling poor air quality and build the greenest council fleet in the UK. In addition to our current work installing charging infrastructure, introducing 50 electric fleet vehicles and 30 push bikes we will be signing up to the Clean Van Commitment, helping us further improve local air quality, and affirming our commitment to reducing our environmental impact

Our greatest air quality challenge is the poison contained in vehicle emissions. We must do what we can at a local and regional level, working together with our residents, partners and business, to help to improve air quality, and we must act now. Using low emission vehicles, can improve air quality and protecting our most vulnerable residents.

Waltham Forest Council is already working hard to improve air quality by redesigning our streets to include more greenery and encourage safer, more active modes of travel, and implementing our ambitious Air Quality Action Plan. Doing nothing is simply not an option!

Our vision is to develop a railway fit for the future. Sustainability for communities, the economy and our environment is at the heart of this vision and the way we work, so we are delighted to support the Clean Van Commitment. Our target is to reduce our overall carbon emissions by 25 per cent between 2019 and 2024, underpinned by our Energy & Carbon Strategy

Feryal Demirci, Deputy Mayor, London Borough of Hackney

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, London Borough of Waltham Forest

Jim Monteith, Head of Road Fleet, Network Rail

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Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is passionate about protecting the environment and meeting internal and national targets for reducing emissions. Managing the impact of our work activities on the environment is key to the achievement of our core business objectives. We continuously consider the potential effects of our work activities with an aim to reducing or eliminating negative impacts to the environment. We have been researching hydrogen technology and are continuing to explore this as a viable alternative fuel for the future. NGN aims to have at least 10% of its commercial fleet to be powered by ‘alternative fuel’ by 2021, we are actively supporting the transition of vehicles used for our operational activity throughout our network to Zero tailpipe emission to protect the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve.

Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust are committed to the continued development of a fleet which is continually updated with the latest technology in relation to vehicle related air pollution. To date our organisation has transitioned towards four electric vehicles, with initiatives to introduce further electric and hybrid cars and vans in line with our Board approved travel plan and sustainable development management plan. We are delighted to be involved in the sign up to the Clean Air commitment, reducing our air pollution emissions from our vehicles as we adopt further low emission technology into our fleet.

Oxford City Council is committed to adopting clean vehicle technologies for our fleet of vehicles and reducing air pollution for our residents and visitors. We fully support the CVC in this initiative and are proud to confirm the Councils ambitions to at least double the 17 electric vehicles currently on fleet over the next two years

Mark Horsley, Chief Executive Northern Gas Networks

Jug Johal, Director of Estates and Facilities, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust

Ian Bourton, Principal Manager, Fleet and Operations, Oxford Council and Direct Services

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At Tesco, we have set ourselves the ambition to become a zero carbon business. In 2017, we became the first company to set science-based climate change targets aligned to a 1.5 degree world. To achieve this, we will source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources across the Group by 2030 – in UK and Ireland, we are already at 100%. On transport, we are focussing on distribution efficiency and our plan has delivered over 15% reduction in carbon emissions per case of goods delivered since 2011. A wider market shift to ULEVs will enable us achieve our zero carbon ambition even faster. We support the CVC and view such initiatives as an integral part of climate change agenda.

We recognise that the greenest travel overall is no travel at all. We will do everything we can to remove and shorten journeys, whilst still helping life flow smoothly for customers.

For the journeys we do have to make, our ambition is to migrate all of our owned fleet away from diesel over the next 10 years, and move to energy we produce ourselves.

We have already started our journey to a greener fleet by converting 20 vehicles to alternative power and our apprentices are also some of the first in the country to be trained in EV maintenance.

As a public sector organisation, we have a responsibility to reduce exhaust emissions to improve the health of the communities we serve, so I’m confident that using cleaner vehicles will make a real difference.

We have already introduced hydrogen-electric support vehicles and a dual-fuel non-emergency patient transport vehicle to help cut our carbon footprint.

Christina Downend, Climate Change Manager, Tesco

Adam Dooley, Head of Fleet, United Utilities

Kathryn Lavery, Chairman, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

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We’re really excited to be starting our journey towards a vehicle fleet entirely powered by renewable energy. As a sustainability-focused business we recognise the need to lower our carbon footprint and play our part in delivering clean air in our towns and cities across Yorkshire.

Simon Barnes, Director of Business Support Group, Yorkshire Water

Improving air quality in the communities you serve44 cities in the UK have air pollution levels that exceed World Health Organisation guidelines.

Poor air quality is linked to heart disease, can cause and worsen asthma, and increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight and decreased lung development in children.

In fact, research by academics at the Universities of Oxford and Bath has revealed that the overall health damage from cars and vans costs the NHS and society £6 billion per year.

But we can change this.

New technology is making the switch to zero emission vehicles possible. Many city-based van fleets are already adopting electric vans, which have been shown to beat diesel vans on lifecycle costs.

Send a signal to policy makers and manufacturers that the demand for zero emission vans is real by joining the Clean Van Commitment.

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The Clean Van Commitment is coordinated by environment charity Global Action Plan, as part of the

Clean Air Day initiative. Clean Air Day partner ENGIE kindly supports Global Action Plan to work with leading fleet

providers in this initiative

The content inside has been created by Global Action Plan on behalf of the signatories of the Clean Van Commitment.

If you are a fleet operator keen to find out more about the Clean Van Commitment, visit  

www.cleanvancommitment.orgor email

Bex BollandHead of Air Quality

Bex.Bolland@globalactionplan.org.ukT: 07852 913 463

9-13 Kean Street London WC2B 4AY Telephone 020 7420 4444

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