Reassessment carried out on Edinburgh Ecostars members

Date: 22/10/2012

Members of the Edinburgh Ecostars scheme who signed up when it was first initiated have undergone a reassessment of their credentials.

Many of the organisations affiliated with the scheme have seen their ratings improved, just nine months down the line.

The scheme allows operators of trucks, buses and vans which work around the City of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Airport to be given a free rating on how green they are.

All members are given a score of between one and five, which takes their environmental performance into account as well as their overall operations.

Of the 19 members currently engaged in the scheme, five saw their ratings improve after the reassessment was carried out.

After adding a number of high quality vehicles to its fleet, Pollock (Scotrans), a local operator, has seen its rating change from three stars up to five.

Further to the addition of the vehicles, the company also rethought its operations in a way that made fuel saving easier.

Joining Pollock on five stars is also Greggs, which was originally given a four star ranking, but through a number of improvements has gained the highest level of stars in the system.

As well as some organisations seeing their star rating increased, the reassessment ensured that those which were on five stars to begin with have maintained their environmentally friendly practices.

City Circle Coaches, Haggis Adventures and Highland Explorer Tours have continued with their fleets in the same ethos, upgrading green technology to keep abreast of developments in the industry.

The scheme helps to incentivise green operations, which in turn helps to improve the quality of air in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Ecostars is part of Ecostars Europe, a fleet recognition scheme, which has been set up in seven locations across the continent.

It is a three-year project, which has been funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe II Programme for 2010.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News