A new scheme powered by the Zemo Partnership will give fleet operators more information about greenhouse gases and sustainability performance of renewable fuels supplied in the UK.
A study conducted by the Zemo Partnership has found that the uptake of renewable fuels for heavy duty fleet operators would be improved if operators had more clarity in terms of the environmental credentials of renewable fuels, both for company carbon reporting and making decisions on fleet decarbonisation solutions.
The electrification of cars and vans is making progress, with a sharping rising market share of the car market and the 2030 ban on the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles. Meanwhile, the bigger, long-range vehicles will be on the road for the next 20 to 30 years. Therefore, in order to achieve net zero by 2050, Zemo propose more clarity of renewable fuels is needed, with information based on greenhouse gas and wider sustainability performance.
The Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) approves companies supplying high blend renewable fuels on the basis of meeting three performance criteria: life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, feedstock sustainability, and supply chain traceability.
The scheme is available to any company that supplied renewable fuels for road vehicles, as well non-road mobile machinery, including biofuels and hydrogen.
A unique feature of the scheme is a ‘Renewable Fuel Declaration’ which fleet operators receive with batches of the renewable fuel purchase. The declaration includes a colour-coded GHG emission savings banding system, similar to energy efficiency labels, encouraging fleet operators to strive to achieve higher GHG emissions savings.
Gloria Esposito, Head of Sustainability, Zemo Partnership commented: ‘It is critical that technological interventions to tackle climate change live up to their billing and can demonstrate verifiable life cycle GHG emissions savings and strong sustainability performance in terms of their production.’
