Action: 17 | Our climate action

1. Climate actions at Council / 1.3. Reducing our fleet, plant & transport emissions /

17Fleet optimisation

Progress

On time

Not started
Planning
Implementation
Continuous

OBJECTIVE
Reduce emissions by downsizing Council's fleet and reducing the need to drive.
IMPACT
Medium
Reductions based on number of vehicles removed or difference in emissions intensity between larger vehicle and downsized vehicle.

General initiatives to improve the efficiency of fleet vehicles and reduce emissions include:

Understand vehicle usage. Understanding fuel consumption and kilometers travelled by different business units and vehicles will help Council prioritise actions that will have the biggest gains in efficiency.
Reduce the need to drive. Promote the use of video and teleconferencing over in-person meetings. Operation of business practices during the COVID-19 pandemic will have demonstrated the ability to conduct business virtually. Promote the use of bicycles (or electric bicycles) for shorter trips.
Downsize the fleet where feasible. Every car in the fleet has an associated cost of ownership (i.e., registration, maintenance, insurance). Any opportunity to consolidate the number of vehicles will therefore reduce the overall costs of operating the fleet. Downsizing can occur through removing underutilised vehicles or reducing vehicle size to ensure they are fit-for-purpose.
Improve the efficiency of trips: Consider options to lighten the load carried by the commercial vehicles (e.g., tool sheds at strategic locations) and trip optimisation (e.g. planning work to minimise travel between sites).
Use the lowest emission fit-for-purpose vehicle available. Many low emission and electric vehicle alternatives are now available on the market with long ranges, cargo and towing capacity, and payloads rivalling those of ICE vehicles.
Ensure environmentally conscious driving. Eco-driver training educates drivers on efficient driving practices. Training programs are available for light and heavy vehicles as well as machinery. Organisations which have completed such training have achieved significant emissions and cost reductions as a result. For example, participating councils in the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action and South East Councils Climate Change Alliance eco-driver program achieved a 10% reduction in fuel consumption and expenditure.

For more information and guidance, see the Electric Vehicle Council’s Local Government Resource Pack (2020).

Tasks

What's left to do?

30/06/2024
Assess electric vs diesel/petrol equipment
Compare usage vs emissions to determine efficiency (kms/hours running vs emissions) across existing fleet and across realistic alternatives. This should identify opportunities for efficiency gains.
31/12/2024
Fleet audit: integrate sustainability and net-zero targets in decision making
Assess fleet for ageing assets that might not need to be replaced (reducing fleet size), or that can be replaced with low-emission alternatives as technology becomes available.
This should be linked with our Fleet Policy.

What are we doing?

30/06/2024
Introduce strategic planning to trip-making
Cultural change around being more strategic about how fleet is used to reduce distance travelled. For example, be more planned and pro-active with road and drainage maintenance, rather than re-active.
31/12/2024
Prioritise virtual meetings, EV use, car pooling, and alternative modes of transport.
Promote alternatives to single-passenger usage of vehicles, particularly to larger Council meetings and events with multiple staff attending from the same locations.
Promote to staff the prioritisation of virtual meetings, EV use, car-pooling, and alternative modes of transport (e.g. ebikes, bicycles).
30/06/2027
Consider removing under-utilised vehicles (<10,000 km travelled per annum)
This is an ongoing process of assessing utilisation rates against optimum usage benchmarks.
Exceptions include L2P vehicles, and potentially EVs based at Yackandandah.

What has been done?

31/12/2023
Collect and clean fleet data
Addressing data gaps and creating new spreadsheets that are easier to extract recommendations from and to synch with reporting tools.
31/12/2023
Compile fleet usage data and analyse for efficiency
Analyse usage / kilometers driven and hours operated data to enable data-driven decision making around plant and fleet optimisation.

Related actions

Indicators

Total cost - transport fuel

Kilometers driven by Council fleet per month

18. Eco-driving

Fuel consumption

EV usage index

% fleet vehicles travelling > 10k km/yr

Number of vehicles in Council's fleet

Timeline

01/07/2021 → Continuous

Target audience

Responsible organisations

Oversees fleet management and procurement.
Provides key information around use and purpose of fleet and plant, and identifies opportunities for efficiency

Emissions Scope

Theme

Indicative costs
Cost of wages
Indicative savings
Savings from optimisation can be used to fund premiums associated with vehicle/equipment switching.

Information updated 12/03/2024

Progress

OBJECTIVEDefinition

Reduce emissions by downsizing Council's fleet and reducing the need to drive.

IMPACTDefinition

Reductions based on number of vehicles removed or difference in emissions intensity between larger vehicle and downsized vehicle.

Description

Tasks

What's left to do?

Assess electric vs diesel/petrol equipment

Fleet audit: integrate sustainability and net-zero targets in decision making

What are we doing?

Introduce strategic planning to trip-making

Prioritise virtual meetings, EV use, car pooling, and alternative modes of transport.

Consider removing under-utilised vehicles (<10,000 km travelled per annum)

What has been done?

Collect and clean fleet data

Compile fleet usage data and analyse for efficiency

Related actions

Indicators

Total cost - transport fuel

Kilometers driven by Council fleet per month

Fuel consumption

EV usage index

% fleet vehicles travelling > 10k km/yr

Number of vehicles in Council's fleet

Summary and contacts

Timeline

Target audience

Responsible organisations

Emissions ScopeDefinition

Theme

Indicative costsDefinition

Indicative savingsDefinition

How this action contributes to the outcome

OBJECTIVE

IMPACT

Emissions Scope

Indicative costs

Indicative savings