New electric fleet is driving carbon neutral saving

Cheshire East Council is continuing its push towards its 2030 carbon neutral target with the unveiling of a new electric fleet of vehicles.

The council now has 22 electric vehicles, which includes six community enforcement vans currently, serving the public.

The range of vehicles also includes tippers which are being used by the council's street cleaning teams, tree surgeons and waste and recycling collection teams.

The conversion to an electric fleet will save 130 tonnes of CO2 a year and it is anticipated that when the next phase of vehicles is electrified – a phase of works which will include 40 of the council's grounds maintenance vehicles – that a further 225 tonnes of CO2 will be saved.

Councillor Heather Seddon, vice-chair of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "This is a very important step in the council's journey towards its net zero target.

"These vehicles will reduce the negative impacts on air quality and I'm sure will be welcomed by our residents, as they are significantly quieter when working around our towns, parks and residential areas."

Councillor Sam Corcoran, Cheshire East Council's environment and climate change member champion, said: "It is very satisfying to see that the rollout of our electric fleet has gone so well.

"This is great news for our wider work towards carbon neutrality, it's also a very positive step in terms of the health benefits it brings and is better value to the council than equivalent diesel vehicles." The council's Carbon Neutral Action Plan (PDF, 2.5MB) – approved in May 2020 – set out the actions the council needed to consider taking.

The focus of that action plan was to try to reduce the council's emissions by around 50 per cent and then to offset the remaining 50 per cent through energy generation, tree-planting and the purchase of green electricity. The council is now focusing less on offsetting and more on reducing its own emissions by electrifying its fleet vehicles and buildings.