Agenda item

To receive a report from the Head of Operational Services on the outcome of the trial of using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as an alternative to standard road diesel.

Executive Councillor: S Taylor.

The Cabinet has

(a)  agreed to adopt the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil across the Council’s fleet based on the successful trial;

(b)  approved delegated authority to the Corporate Director for Place and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance & Resources and the Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene to take operational decisions regarding the implementation and ongoing management of the Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil initiative;

(c)  authorised HDC Officers to engage with neighbouring authorities to explore the wider Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil adoption across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough;

(d)  endorsed continued collaboration with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and Cambridgeshire Constabulary on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil usage and other partnership opportunities; and

(e)  endorsed HDC’s engagement with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to explore potential funding for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil implementation and ongoing usage and opportunities for wider Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil adoption among Cambridgeshire partners.

With the aid of a report by the Head of Operational Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Cabinet were updated on the outcome of the trial of using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as an alternative to standard road diesel.

In introducing the report, the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene reported that the trial had commenced in 2023 as a means of supporting and contributing towards the Council’s Climate Strategy. Emergency response services were also invited to join the trial which included Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue and Cambridgeshire Constabulary. The Cabinet were encouraged to learn that the pilot had demonstrated operational efficiencies and contributed towards the Council’s achievement of net zero carbon goals.

In acknowledging the benefits of the trial and having welcomed the positive outcomes achieved, the Executive Councillor for Climate, Transformation and Workforce reminded the Cabinet that the project was a stepping stone and that there was still some work to do given that the Council’s fleet of vehicles used internal combustion engines.

A question was then raised by the Executive Councillor for Communities, Health and Leisure querying whether the income generated from green waste could be utilised to subsidise increased biofuel costs. The Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene reported that this had been built into the Medium-Term Financial Strategy going forward.

Much discussion then ensued on the four suggested recommendations arising from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environment, Communities and Partnerships). Cabinet Members discussed their impact, the need to be cautious with some of the proposed recommendations in the event of there being a future UK based supplier, the scale of the proposal and extent of the work required relating to the creation of a cross partner steering group of relevant organisations and local producers within Cambridgeshire to develop the production of fuel within the District and the fact that elements of the recommendations were already being picked up by the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene as business as usual. The Cabinet were also reminded by the Executive Councillor for Climate, Transformation and Workforce of the work already being undertaken by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to tackle some of these themes. It was further reported that the Council’s Fleet Manager was proactively engaging with authorities within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area as well as the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to share the learning which had been achieved from the pilot. With the above in mind, the Cabinet agreed not to pursue the proposed recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environment, Communities and Partnerships) and noted them at the meeting. Whereupon, the Cabinet

RESOLVED

(a)  to adopt the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil across the Council’s fleet based on the successful trial;

(b)  to delegate authority to the Corporate Director - Place and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources and the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene to take operational decisions regarding the implementation and ongoing management of the Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil initiative;

(c)  to authorise HDC Officers to engage with neighbouring authorities to explore the wider Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil adoption across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough;

(d)  to endorse continued collaboration with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and Cambridgeshire Constabulary on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil usage and other partnership opportunities; and

(e)  to endorse HDC’s engagement with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to explore potential funding for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil implementation and ongoing usage and opportunities for wider Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil adoption among Cambridgeshire partners.