Township of Langley: Gold-Rated Fleet (2013)

FBC's Marion Town presents an E3 Gold Rating award to Langley Township Mayor Jack Froese on October 28, 2013

In 2013 Township of Langley earned an E3 Fleet Gold Rating, becoming the fourth municipality in Canada to receive this top honour for excellence in fleet management and green performance.

Since 2006, the Township has cut GHG emissions in its fleet by 27%, from 1,593 to 1,161 tonnes — the equivalent of taking 86 passenger cars off the road. Average fuel efficiency has increased 21% from 26.5 litres/100 km to 20.9 litres/100 km.

Langley became a charter member of the E3 Fleet program in November 2006. A commitment to fleet performance was in line the municipality’s partnership in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection Program, and its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Township created a fleet action plan, and by 2008 had earned an E3 Fleet Silver Rating, the first municipality in Canada to do so. Equipment Maintenance Manager John McQueen and his team worked on multiple initiatives:

• training staff and raising the awareness of employees about green practices
• changing vehicle purchasing, operations and maintenance programs
• introducing biodiesel to the fleet
• right-sizing the fleet by replacing larger vehicles with Smart Cars and hybrids
• installing GPS tracking systems to increase route efficiency.

In achieving E3 Gold, the Township has further improved fuel efficiency by 0.3 litres/100km since 2008 and reduced annual fuel consumption by about 14,000 litres. These accomplishments were despite an increase in the size of the fleet that was needed to serve this growing community.