Emissions Zone gives off confusion
PH Jones, national heating and property maintenance contractor, welcomes the Low Emissions Zone in London, and announces the expected introduction of bio-diesel vehicles into the fleet from June.
Britain’s first Low Emission Zone (LEZ) commenced on 4 February 2008, bringing some confusion to motorists. The scheme has been implemented to improve air quality in London through deterring the most polluting vehicles from driving in the zone, by charging them £200 per day to enter Greater London.
The main target is lorries over 12 tonnes, but this will extend to include buses and coaches in July of this year. Vehicles which meet EU exhaust limits are listed on a database, and will be allowed to travel in the city as normal, but lorries who do not will face the charge.
All lorries manufactured since October 2001 operate within the emissions rate of under 0.05g of airborne dirt and nitrogen oxide per km and older ones can be adapted to comply with the standards. Companies are responsible for ensuring their vehicles comply with the rules, and if they fail to pay the £200 charge, they will be fined £1000.
Specialist heating contractor PH Jones Ltd will not be affected by these changes, as their fleet of vehicles is under 12 tonnes, but all vehicles run with minimum emissions. Following the company’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, PH Jones Ltd is also introducing biodiesel vehicles into the fleet in June.
Whilst the majority of vehicles used to service, repair and install heating systems are LPG, the company is constantly looking for new ways to reduce carbon emissions and help protect the environment. They keep abreast with vehicle development information and have observed the development of an electric hybrid vehicle which they plan to introduce in the next two years.
The new biodiesel vehicle is 30% biodiesel and has CO less than 199kg (and therefore exempt from congestion charges) and a fuel consumption of around 64mpg.
Managing Director, Martin Jones added:
“We are continually looking at ways to improve the performance of our vehicles, and together with our Vehicle Management System which ensures efficient use of our fleet, we aim to minimise the use of energy, resources consumed and waste produced while undertaking our business activities in a safe and professional manner.”
Energy efficiency is a topic of concern to the company, and further innovation is planned to ensure that initiatives to reduce the impact on the environment are effective.
PH Jones Ltd will endeavour to minimise the detrimental effects of pollution and negative environmental impact as a result of the transportation demands of the business by:
- Encouraging suppliers to make co-ordinated deliveries to reduce number of trips
- Regularly maintaining vehicles to be within manufacturers’ guidelines
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