As part of the London Fire Brigade’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, a total of 78 charge points have been installed across the capitals fire stations and Brigade sites. The charging points will support their growing fleet of electric support vehicles. GreenFleet examines the London Fire Brigade's efforts to reduce vehicle emissions.

Protecting people and property from fire within the 1,587 square kilometres of Greater London The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the busiest fire and rescue service in the country and one of the largest firefighting and rescue organisations in the world. LFB employs almost 6,000 staff of which over 5,000 are operational firefighters and officers. It is part of a group of organisations under the ‘umbrella’ of the Greater London Authority (GLA).
   
London currently has some of the worst air pollution in the UK, the primary source of which is road transport, which forms in particular hotspots within central London. As a result, London Fire Brigade’s fleet of fire engines and vehicles have been converted to be compliant with Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards, which aim to improve air quality by deterring the most polluting vehicles from driving in the area.
   
LBF’s fleet includes frontline appliances with low exhaust emissions and cars being dual‑fuelled (LPG/petrol) or with good vehicle emissions ratings.

Sustainable travel
Travel and transport is recognised as a significant aspect of LBF’s operations – not only how it operates its own vehicles but also how staff travel to work every day. The second Travel Plan 2013/18 outlines the Brigade’s approach to managing the impact of this on the environment, staff and the community LBF will serve for the next five years.
   
Following some great successes with the first Travel Plan, the latest staff travel survey has shown positive results, with 19.48 per cent of respondents cycling to work, compared to a national average of just 2.9 per cent recorded in the 2011 Census.
   
This plan outlines the on-going commitment and the range of new measures to support the Brigade’s commitment to sustainable travel and transport. London Fire Brigade recognise the impact our operations have on the environment and we constantly strive to reduce and mitigate those impacts.
   
Working to achieve the highest standards in the management of environmental matters, the Brigade operates an Environmental Management System. Since 2005, the Procurement Department has had accredited certification to ISO 14001 Standard and from September 2014 that certification has been expanded to cover London Fire Brigade’s headquarters and 10 fire stations.

The Brigade has used various methods to raise environmental awareness, including a ‘Green Champions’ programme, for which over 200 members of its staff have received green champions training to date. The Brigade’s aim to have at least one green champion per building.
   
As a result of Green Champion Audits, various improvements at sites were identified, including movement sensors on lighting, dual‑flush toilets and thermostatic controls on radiators. Responsible Procurement is also a major part of the Brigade’s green initiatives.

Fleet establishment
London Fire Brigade currently uses five electric cars through its lease car scheme and hopes to include another five fleet cars towards the end of the year as a result of additional government funding secured from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.
    
Once funding is secured there will be a two‑year trial and if this proves successful, the five vehicles will become part of its ongoing fleet establishment. The trial vehicles will be allocated to various operational staff over two years to ensure the organisation gets a wide exposure of staff to the vehicles and meets the optimum annual mileage to provide affordability.
    
Under the current lease scheme the individual must choose a vehicle (electric, hybrid or fuel) that meets the criteria set by the Brigade. The scheme has a maximum emission limit and other requirements to ensure the choice is appropriate to operate as an emergency response vehicle (e.g. blue lights can be added, the vehicle can carry fire fighting kit in the boot, etc). Electric vehicles that currently fulfil this criteria and are available to staff on the lease scheme include the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Toyota Prius and the Vauxhall Ampera (now discontinued).
   
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “It’s too early to say what the full benefits will be of including electric vehicles in our fleet, but we expect to save on costs and reduce emissions. If the upcoming trial demonstrates the business case, further electric cars would be considered when vehicles are due for replacement.”

Energy and water
More than 99 tonnes of CO2 were saved through renewable energy installations in 2009/10, and a further 45 tonnes of CO2 were saved through staff awareness of the need to limit emissions. Overall emissions are down by 16.7 per cent compared to 1990, despite significant growth in the size of the organisation.
   
A number of the Brigade’s sites are generating their own energy. Solar panels have been installed at 23 fire stations, solar heating at nine fire stations, combined heat and power at 19 fire stations and wind turbines at a further two fire stations.
   
Energy efficient lighting with occupancy controls has been fitted to 38 buildings so far. In 2009 the Brigade entered into a performance guarantee contract to reduce the energy consumption at 10 stations and has achieved a reduction in emissions of 253 tonnes per year across the 10 buildings. More energy saving schemes are in the design and planning stage.
   
The Brigade is replacing inefficient lighting, installing sensor lighting, replacing old inefficient heating systems and adding extra loft and wall insulation.
   
Work has continued with water reduction projects with the installation of push‑button urinal controls, leak monitoring and low flow taps at eight stations. This has led to an improvement of over 15 per cent since 2006/7. Green Champions also help to save water such as installing water saving ‘hippo’ bags in toilet cisterns.
   
Grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting has been installed at Sidcup and Harold Hill fire stations and is included in the Standard Station Design Brief for all new and refurbished fire stations. The Brigade is not required to pay for operational water use but is working with its PFI vehicle supplier, Assetco, to develop the technology to measure how much water is used.

Further information
www.london-fire.gov.uk/GreenInitiatives.asp