Islington Council has scooped two international awards for its fleet of environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The authority runs electric cars and scooters which are charged with power from a wind turbine and renewable sources.
The council's fleet also includes four hybrid cars and more than 50 LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) vehicles. Diesel vehicles have been running on UK-sourced bio-diesel for nearly two years.
Following these efforts, Islington Council has won 'European Public Sector Fleet of the Year' at the European Greenfleet Awards in Brussels.
The council's Fleet Manager, Chris Rutherford, also scooped 'European Fleet Manager of the Year'.
Chris said: "Cutting carbon emissions, while providing a great service to our residents, is top of my agenda.
"Our staff use bicycles and electric scooters whenever they can to get around the borough.
"But when we need to use larger vehicles we make sure they're as clean as possible, which is why we're constantly expanding our electric fleet. In fact, we've just got our first electric van.
"We even train our drivers to be 'light on the accelerator' to use less fuel."
Councillor Greg Foxsmith, Islington Council's Executive Member for Environment, said: "These awards show we're doing something right, and I'm really proud of our team and what they've done.
"But we can't rest out laurels. We've already got more projects in the pipeline to help us become the most environmentally-friendly borough in London."
Islington Council is currently piloting a scheme using pure plant oils straight from source on four buses and two refuse trucks. These use less fuel and significantly reduce emissions in the whole fuel-production process.
The authority is also taking part in a trial of electric Smart cars this year, to help prove the effectiveness of electric cars and to move the technology into the mass market.
The European Greenfleet Awards recognise organisations which make efforts to reduce the environmental impact of motoring across Europe.
ENDS
For more information please call Chris Weeks on 020 7527 3032
PICTURE CAPTION: Fleet manager Chris Rutherford charging electric vehicle
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008