Cornwall council joins Eco Stars scheme

Cornwall council is the latest local authority to join a national and European fleet management scheme, which aims to cut emissions and improve local air quality.

The Cornwall ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme was launched last month at Dolcoath in Camborne.

(l-r) Jason Gallop & Wendell Roberts (CORMAC), Pat Nunn (TNT), Cllr Geoff Brown (Cornwall Council, Portfolio Holder for Communities), Brian Nash (TNT), Nick Smith (Lorne Stewart), Neil Porter (WJ South West Ltd), Chris Thompson (Lorne Stewart)

Eco Stars is a free, voluntary scheme that provides recognition, guidance and advice on operational best practice to operators of goods vehicles, buses, coaches and commercial vehicle fleets.

Transport & Travel Research Ltd will deliver the scheme on behalf of the council.

Councillor Geoff Brown, Cornwall council’s portfolio holder for communities, said: “Cornwall ECO Stars scheme is a great opportunity for operators in the Camborne, Pool, Illogan and Redruth area to get free advice on improving their fleet efficiency. Congratulations to our inaugural members – we hope that many more businesses will follow their lead, join the scheme and contribute to improving air quality in the area, whilst also improving their bottom line.”

Originally set up by four South Yorkshire local authorities — Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham — in 2009 to improve local air pollution from transport, the ECO Stars scheme assesses both individual vehicles within a fleet and overall fleet management practices and then giving the fleet an overall rating of between one and five stars. (See airqualitynews.com story).

Review

According to the council, member businesses and transport operators then receive a free operational efficiency review and ‘road map’ to outline the measures they can practically take to reduce fuel consumption and save money on fleet operating costs.

Glasgow city council is also a part of the ECO Stars schemes encompassing more than 200 operators with over 14,000 vehicles located in cities across the UK and Europe including Nottingham, Falkirk, Mid Devon, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Parma in Italy and South East Sweden. In total, the individual schemes have more than 300 members.

Jim Chappell, Transport and Travel Research ECO Stars Programme Manager, said: “The scheme is free, simple to join and open to all fleets operating in the Camborne, Pool, Illogan and Redruth area, irrespective of your fleet size.  By following our advice, businesses could improve their fuel efficiency by up to 5%.”