California Vehicle Fleet Among Greenest in North America

 California has been named a Top 100 Government Green Fleet operator for the third consecutive year. The recognition came during the annual North American Green Fleet Forum last month in Sacramento.

 
The state’s vehicle fleet was named 18th ‘greenest’ out of 100 public sector fleets in North America. The award, open to all federal, state, and local governments, is judged based on fleet composition, fuel and emissions, policy and planning, fleet utilization, education, executive and employee involvement, and supporting programs.
 
California placed No. 12 on the list in 2013 and No. 16 in 2012. Kansas City, Mo., took the top spot in the 2014 ranking.
 
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order stipulating that beginning in 2015 at least 10 percent of all eligible non-emergency, light-duty vehicle acquisitions (such as sedans) for the state’s fleet are electric vehicles. That proportion increases to 25 percent by 2020. The state buys about 600 sedans per year, according to state documents, so under the 2015 benchmark 60 of the sedans must be zero emission vehicles (ZEV).
 
Zero emission vehicles include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric battery vehicles. Plug-in hybrids typically can be counted toward partial credit for the ZEV benchmark.
 
The Department of General Services’ Office of Fleet and Asset Management manages vehicle purchasing for state agencies and departments.
 
This staff report was originally published by TechWire.