Greener driving in Scotland......

When whole life costs of a vehicle are taken into account, it can be demonstrated that a green vehicle can mean cost savings as well as CO2 savings. The Energy Saving Trust has calculated that Scottish organisations could save over £250 million a year through reduced fuel bills by switching to greener company cars - a figure based on the 290,000 company cars that are registered in Scotland over the last three years. Typically, a company running 100 vehicles can expect to save £85,000 annually by implementing a range of best practice recommendations.

Fleet managers are under constant pressure to deal with a range of issues, such as reducing costs, increasing safety and, importantly, introducing environmental policies to cut down on CO2 and other tailpipe emissions. GreenFleet Scotland aims to convince fleet managers and those responsible for vehicle procurement that a greener fleet doesn’t have to mean a higher level of investment.

Following the success of last years inaugural Scotland event, GreenFleet is coming to Edinburgh on Thursday 2nd September 2010. It will prove to be a ‘must attend’ event for fleet managers and those responsible for vehicle procurement by, showcasing a range of green vehicles and technology the extent of which has never been seen previously in Scotland.

Seminar programme
This year’s free event will also see the addition of a range of seminars, where the latest fleet issues can be discussed. Focussing on the most current fleet topics, attendees will be able to hear about the latest developments and share their experience and knowledge of the issues of the day. John Curtis, Head of Low Carbon Vehicles and Fuels at the Scottish Government will discuss its strategy for migration to low carbon transport. 

Dr Colin Herron, head of programme at One North East, will look at the 'Plugged in Places' project, and the progress in developing infrastructure for electric vehicle recharging.

After the vehicles have returned from the Eco-Driving Experience, and the results have been calculated, Millbrook Laboratories will detail how the testing for the Eco Driving Experience is carried out, along with an overview of fuel saving devices and technologies, before announcing which teams have performed best.

VIEW THE FULL SEMINAR PROGRAMME HERE

Sponsored by the Energy Saving Trust
The Energy Saving Trust is sponsoring the GreenFleet Scotland event in September and is doing so as they have been working with a number of public and private sector bodies to help them understand how they can save money and reduce their impact on the environment. With funding from the Scottish Government, the Energy Saving Trust already manages carbon reducing initiatives such as green fleet reviews and travel planning, and is currently running a successful Scotland-wide eco-driving campaign. It is keen to continue to promote these messages to business fleets through the GreenFleet Scotland event.

The Energy Saving Trust encourages the adoption of travel alternatives, such as video conferencing or using public transport, but it also appreciates that there are times when travel by car or van is necessary. That is why the Energy Saving Trust is supportive of GreenFleet Scotland’s plans to bring together a selection of low carbon vehicles, so that fleet managers and other transport professionals can ‘touch, taste and feel’ the low carbon alternatives, and assess their suitability for purpose.

Eco-driving experience
The eco-driving experience will start the days proceedings and will involve teams navigating their way to a number of checkpoints in the Edinburgh area in order to test their eco-driving skills. The teams will consist of a mix of cars and vans from public and private sector organisations in Scotland, and their fuel use will be accurately measured by Millbrook Laboratories, one of Europe’s leading organisations for the testing, development and demonstration of many vehicle types.

Businesses in Scotland will be asked to nominate their own team (a driver and a passenger) and cars/vans.  Once the eco-driving experience teams have set off, visitors will be able to peruse the latest offerings from the leading manufacturers, and will be given an opportunity to test drive the cars and light commercial vehicles which are pushing low emissions technology forward, as well as some of the tools that might also help reduce mileage.

REGISTRATION FOR GREENFLEET SCOTLAND HAS NOW CLOSED

For further information about the Energy Saving Trust, visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland