Northern Beaches Council in suburban Sydney has a target to be Net Zero by 2045, with an aspiration of achieving this by 2030.
To get to this target requires a number of strategies and fleet management is one of these areas, but as Emily Carson explains there are many factors to be considered in that journey.
Carson, the manager of community transport, parking and fleet at the council, explains that of 370 council vehicles, 265 are passenger vehicles with 19 powered with a hybrid drive train and five plug-in electric vehicles.
When Carson took over her current role in 2019, the council already had several EV’s and there was a strong focus on lowering emissions.
Since then, however, there has been more of a focus on financial efficiency and fiscal accountability to ratepayers and this has introduced some nuances into the Net Zero path.
There are government grants and initiatives and some of them that are intended to encourage EVs can sometimes not have the intended outcome.
The initial cost of an EV or plug in hybrid vehicle is higher, and although the operating costs are less, the impact is that the required budget for Council’s fleet program is greater than anticipated.
A Council leaseback agreement is unlikely to be considered a financially binding agreement and so Councils may not be able to receive the full benefits that other organisations may enjoy and therefore the incentives may not be taken up in the same way.
The whole of life cost of EVs and PHEVs are still higher than Internal Combustion Engine and hybrid vehicles and in situations where FBT is not applicable for Council, this incentive has little to no advantage.
EV charging has also been an issue, and several years ago the council invested in charging infrastructure which is no longer supported.
“There are also many unknowns on the sale price of EVs, their battery life and the second hand market,” said Carson.
“Are old EVs going to be sought after? Or is the market going to be flooded with EVs and will that reduce the second hand costs, because that will impact council when we turn over our fleet as we keep vehicles for four years.
“So there are a lot of considerations to balance out and competing priorities.”
Range anxiety is also a factor for employees pondering making the EV choice. In the past, around 80% of council staff have lived in the council area but increasing housing costs were forcing many people out of the Northern Beaches.
“So with range anxiety comes another obstacle for people,” said Carson.
While the council fleet balances out the costs and benefits of EVs and the pace of transition, other areas of council operations have been able to advance the organisation-wide journey to Net Zero.
Northern Beaches Council has embraced renewable energy and all council sites are now 100% powered by renewables, and there are also opportunities to save energy and advance towards the target through retro-fitting and upgrading some facilities.
Another option, said Carson, was the purchase of carbon credits to offset emissions, and this also needed to be factored into the Net Zero strategy alongside the EV transition plan.
“Is it financially better for council to offset emissions or have an EV, or do we achieve a better result through purchasing hybrids,” she said.
“So the strategy is all about having that practical planning approach so we are informed and can make the right decisions.”
