Nottingham City Council is responsible for providing services including education, social care, and transport planning, to over 330,000 people in Nottingham and the surrounding areas.
The council recognises the danger posed by climate change and poor air quality – problems that cost it £500 million a year – so has set a target of becoming the first climate neutral city in the UK by 2028.
To help achieve this aim, Nottingham City Council developed a fleet electrification strategy that has already seen it acquire electric compact sweepers, cage tippers, minibuses, and refuse collection vehicles. These new purchases are the first of their kind in the UK. It has also installed 104 vehicle charging points with 40 more due to be completed by the end of 2020, an increase that will allow the council to further grow its fleet of ultra-low emissions vehicles (ULEVs).
In the past two years, the council has opened a specialist maintenance workshop for ULEVs, and is adopting new technologies that will ease the demand on electricity infrastructure.
The result of this work is that since 2016, the number of ULEV’s in Nottingham City Council’s fleet has grown from two to 196 – or 40% of all the vehicles that it operates. These vehicles have collectively saved 237,000 litres of diesel per year, reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 410 tonnes. The operational savings from electrifying the fleet have also generated more than £440,000 per year. This money is ring fenced to meet the increased purchase costs of electric vehicles.
Nottingham City Council won the 2021 Dr Will Murray Award for Analysis and Action at the UK Fleet Champions Awards.
See more previous winners.