Sustainable government transport: follow the leader, says an independent report - and look no further than the Department for Transport's own Government Car and Despatch Agency
3 July 2009
Government Car and Despatch Agency, the organisation that keeps government on the road, has been praised by independent consultants for its leadership in ‘green’ fleet management.
It has just been announced that GCDA is to take delivery of an electric van to play a key role in its mail and parcel delivery fleet. The ground-breaking no-emission vans have a restricted top speed of 50mph and a range of up to 100 miles on a fully-charged battery. They are also British, produced in the north-east by Smith Electric Vehicles.
“We are enthusiastic about every step, large or small, that we take towards meeting – and even exceeding - our ‘green’ targets as quickly as possible even though official deadlines for some, such as CO2 emissions reduction, may be some years away,” said the GCDA’s Chief Executive, Roy Burke.
“It is hugely encouraging to have had our proactive approach to sustainable fleet management praised so highly by independent assessment. This kind of public acknowledgement is a real boost for the Agency and all its staff.”
Unqualified endorsement of GCDA’s commitment to the ‘greening’ of all its services, from specialist transport for government ministers to its secure mail delivery arm, comes from specialist transport consultants JPM who were commissioned to produce an overview of all aspects of government transport travel.
“The Government Car and Despatch Agency....is recognised nationally and internationally as an example of best practice in sustainable fleet management,” JPM’s report concluded, highlighting the Agency’s ‘smarter driving’ programme and its ability to meet SOGE* targets ahead of schedule. Two of the report’s recommendations call on GCDA expertise to assist the Office of Government Commerce in building consistent best-practice fleet management and driving across all government departments and establishments.
All this in the same week that Chief Executive of the Agency, Roy Burke was featured as one of the top 25 people in the country doing their bit to improve the fleet industry in the Fleet News Power List.
GCDA’s performance is impressive and has been recognised with both national and international awards.
Four years ago, 90% of the ministerial fleet’s vehicles ran on conventional fuels. By the end of last year (2008), 67% were low-emission hybrid/LPG vehicles. Tailpipe emissions have been cut from 232.03g CO2/km in 2005 to an all-time low of 136.82g CO2/km in 2008 – a reduction of 41%, compared with the official target of a 15% cut by 2011.
As part of its ‘smart driver’ initiative, the Agency insists all its drivers have the Institute of Advanced Motorists qualification, and fuel consumption is monitored so that drivers using more fuel than they should can be identified and retrained. GCDA has also been closely involved with established accreditation organisations in the development of an NVQ-based driver training programme which encourages safety and fuel economy.
