Clean air keynotes at the IOC Heads of Industry round table

Ocado – DEFRA

Express logistics is the cleanest sector in transport. Inst of Couriers sub group chair for Clean air is Graham Thomas from Ocado. Graham spoke exploding urgent delivery of food on the Ocado Zoom fleet, he detailed gas tractor units in linehaul to final mile electric van solutions.

Graham Thomas, Ocado – ‘Our Zoom fleet is exploding - Like Evri we are running Iveco S Way gas tractor units, gas cost has become a challenge but for us its about clean air, 50% of our fleet is CNG and we are targeted to be 100% by 2026. In final mile we are struggling to get vehicles. Graham spoke about the Ocado Zoom platform for urgent final mile food delivery. Getting food delivered same day, small radius delivery in London, we are using vehicles from electric van, car & scooter, ‘the zoom fleet’, Acton, Canning Town, Leeds. Battersea is still to come, the zoom fleet is in excess of ninety assets, its exploding.’

Setting the scene of decarbonisation Graham Thomas introduced the Govt key note speaker, Sam Harrison DEFRA to talk ‘The complexity of multiple streams in different geographics.’

Sam Harrison DEFRA, ‘I am here to listen to you.’ A national perspective on clean air zones. Latest updates for Sheffield and Newcastle. The JAQU perspective.

‘I am here to listen to you. Express final mile has been seen to bring clean air to logistics. Science points to deaths from vehicle emissions. Your drivers are also being effected by the air prolusion. Tackling 2.5 particulates, there are groups who want particulates down to a very low number, we are looking for a reasonable target for 2040. Nitrogen Dioxide, there are 64 local authorities in the early list, we are looking at reducing road side emission, interventions including speed limits and grants for technology.’ Sam clarified, Clean Air zones come in their four versions, A B C & D. C brings LGVs in the D brings in cars. We are reasonably aligned to ULEZ and there are further zones such as Oxford. I hear the frustration regarding different zone regulations. If you are outside the zone you generally cant claim grants from the local authority. Bath & Birmingham are active, Portsmouth, Bradford and Newcastle and Gateshead. launched recently as reported in the IOC Sunday email. People ask me about Greater Manchester, there are ten local authorities from TFGM but today I don’t have an answer for you on Manchester.

‘Net zero is growing, future freight, a great document, inevitable more policies to come, Govt is trying to support your sector, ‘

Sam Harrison DEFRA

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