🕒 Article read time: 2 minutes
Gatwick slashes its vehicle emissions after switching to HVO
London Gatwick has revealed that by using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in its diesel vehicles, the airport has reduced its carbon emissions by 90%, a saving of more than 950 tonnes annually.
HVO fuel is made almost entirely from used cooking oils and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% and air particulates by 85%.
A fossil free replacement for conventional diesel fuel, HVO contains few impurities and burns cleanly. It can also reduce other emissions such as NOx and carbon monoxide, depending on engine type and usage.
All 300 diesel vehicles, 85% of the airport’s total fleet, are now powered by HVO and will be until they are retired from use, at which point they will be replaced by electric vehicles as part of the airport’s sustainability policy, Decade of Change.
Following extensive trials, it was seen that HVO had no impact on the performance of the vehicles, meaning the fire engines, which are among the vehicles now powered by the low carbon fuel, can still respond to call outs anywhere on the airfield within three minutes.
All the airport’s fire engines are now powered by EVO as well as all airside operations vehicles and snow ploughs.
Katie Adams, Senior Policy Analyst at Logistics UK said “While we await zero emission technologies to become more suitable, low carbon fuels (LCFs) offer an immediate solution to help reduce emissions, as Gatwick has demonstrated. The logistics sector is already embracing the decarbonisation agenda;- however for many of our members, costs of LCFs are too high compared with conveniently fuelled options. Logistics UK is calling for LCFs to be incentivised in the tax system to increase their adoption and allow other operators and stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions immediately.”
London Gatwick plans to invest over £250 million in replacing all vehicles, gas boilers and refrigerants with low carbon alternatives.
Gatwick will also continue to reduce overall energy use, invest in on-site renewable energy, including solar power, and continue to source 100% renewable electricity.
Published On: 07/03/2024 16:00:00
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In Brief
London borough of Camden consults on its Freight and Servicing Action Plan
Camden has launched a short four-week consultation, open until 22 March, on its draft Freight and Servicing Action Plan (FSAP) that the borough believes will meet the objectives set out in Camden’s Transport Strategy.
The FSAP outlines measure that have already been taken and lists 36 individual actions that the borough hopes to implement to make freight and servicing journeys safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.
The plan follows three principles of reduce, remode, and retime. Camden sees 80,000 freight vehicles, ranging from vans to HGVs, entering the borough every day and it wishes to change the way it manages freight to reduce the number of vehicles on the streets to the benefit of active travel options.
Logistics UK will be submitting its response, based on existing policy positions adopted by Freight Councils, and, at first read through, is encouraged that the borough has identified the London Lorry Control Scheme as one of the priority points to be addressed to help retime vehicle movements in London.  
Members can find details of the consultation here and can submit their own response to the survey here. 
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