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CALL FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO SAVE MONEY AND DRIVE DOWN HARMFUL ROAD TRAFFIC EMISSIONS THROUGH FREE SCHEME
September 2009
Sheffield City Council Leader, Paul Scriven, is inviting local businesses to sign up to a free scheme, which will help them save money, and save the environment too.
The ECO (Efficient and Cleaner Operations) Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme is a free South Yorkshire scheme that offers an exciting opportunity for all commercial vehicle operators to cut costs and improve environmental performance by reducing fuel consumption.
Sheffield City Council�s fleet and Sheffield-based business City Sameday Couriers Ltd have become the most recent ECO Stars members. Sheffield City Council signed up 755 fleet vehicles and achieved a three star rating for operational and environmental performance. City Sameday Couriers, the first courier company in the area to offer a carbon free delivery service, signed up all 12 of their vehicles and received a four star rating.
The ECO Stars scheme is the first of its kind in the UK and is open to both small and large businesses across all sectors. The scheme is particularly valuable because every member receives free tailor-made guidance on how to improve their fleet�s performance through recommendations around vehicle specification, fuel management and driving skills.
Councillor Paul Scriven said: �Invisible pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxide from road traffic emissions cause serious harm to our health - every year an estimated 24,000 people across the UK die prematurely due to air pollution. Road traffic also produces large amounts of CO2, which is a major cause of climate change.
�My support goes out to these two new ECO Stars members for the commitment they have shown to improving their environmental performance. With no sign up fee, help through the application process and tailor-made support for each individual company, I urge other fleet operators across South Yorkshire to sign up and take advantage of this first-of-a-kind scheme.�
Sheffield City Council�s fleet was praised by the ECO Stars Team for their operational efficiency and best practice in key aspects of fleet management. The fleet�s management will now be looking at recommendations around vehicle replacement policy to increase the number of newer, cleaner vehicles in place of the older ones.
City Sameday Couriers were commended for their efforts around ensuring efficiency and environmental performance are very much at the core of their fleet operation, and for their investment in newer and cleaner vehicles. They are now working with the ECO Stars Team to implement a robust fuel management programme and progress to the maximum five
star rating.
Over 3300 vehicles have been ECO Star assessed since the scheme launched in January. To sign up, call the ECO Stars Team on 01543 416 416 and quote �ECO Stars�, email [email protected] or visit www.care4air.org/ecostars