TR1Decarbonising SBC's fleet and fuel

As part of Stevenage’s target to be net zero by 2030, the Council has set a target to decarbonise their fleet before 2030.

The fleet accounted for approximately 23% of the Council's emissions in their 2018 baseline data.

Decarbonising SBC's transport-related emissions includes reducing carbon emissions across its own fleet, the grey fleet used for operational purposes, and the modes of commuting of its workforce, as shown below.

Actions to decarbonise transport could be classified into the main groups shown below.

Actions consisting of avoiding unnecessary journeys or shifting to active travel or public transport are always under analysis by the Council, as they usually produce cost savings and positive effects in terms of congestion, local pollution and carbon emissions.

Another alternative to decarbonise SBC's fleet is to change the fuel utilised with minor or null adaptations (in vehicles or infrastructure) needed.

Currently, SBC operates a mixed fleet of more than 100 vehicles consisting of large goods vehicles, vans, tractors, mowers, road sweepers, plant, and small utility vehicles.

Almost the entire fleet currently runs on white diesel fuel. However, things have started to change with three new electric vans in the fleet since 2023.

Heavy-duty vehicles account for about 63.4% of the total SBC fleet emissions, with refuse freighters as particularly dominant (due to high mileage and high fuel consumption). According to the UK Government, refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) often generate a considerable proportion of local authority’s fleet emissions, so this is a shared challenge across the country.

Cars and small vans, in turn, are responsible for nearly 22.3% of fleet-related SBC emissions, with minivans and panel vans the most relevant.

As part of its Climate Change Strategy, the Council has developed a pathway to decarbonise its fleet. This pathway includes the switch from diesel to an ultra-low carbon biofuel, as soon as possible, and using Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) as the preferred replacement option for cars and small vans (from 2025 onwards) and light-duty (from 2027 onwards), and Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) of different available and cost-efficient technologies (such as BEVs or Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles) for Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) from 2027.

The Council has also installed solar panels on the roofs of 7 of their refuse trucks. The solar panels power the onboard electrical systems, reducing the need for the alternator to be used which in turn, can save up to 1,100 litres of diesel per lorry per year.