Back
The Zemo Partnership launches new renewable fuels approval scheme
31 March 2021
The Zemo Partnership, formerly the Low CVP, has launched a new approval scheme for renewable fuels, which is set to boost fleet uptake.
The Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS), working alongside the government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), aims to provide a “mechanism for guaranteeing that fleet operators are purchasing bulk supplies of sustainable low carbon fuels” by verifying “claims made by companies supplying renewable fuels to heavy-duty vehicle and equipment operators regarding their product’s GHG emission savings and provenance of raw material feedstocks”.
The Zemo Partnership says that the new scheme will help fleet decision-makers in making processes for fleet decarbonisation.
This scheme has been created in light of the fact that a lack of clarity around the environmental credentials of renewable fuels in order to make decisions on fleet decarbonisation solutions has negatively impacted fleet uptake, according to a recent report by the Zemo Partnership.
The Zemo Partnership also highlighted the fact that, despite progress made in electrifying vehicles, many long-range vehicles and legacy cars and vans will be on the road for the next 20-30 years, meaning that using renewable fuels to cut GHG emissions from these vehicles should be a key objective in the plan to net zero emissions by 2050.
Head of sustainability at the Zemo Partnership Gloria Esposito said, “It’s critical that technological interventions to tackle climate change live up to their billing and can demonstrate verifiable life cycle GHG emissions savings and strong sustainability performance in terms of their production.
“With increasing attention being given to Scope 3 emissions in corporate carbon reporting, measures to lower GHG emissions across company supply chains are becoming increasingly important.
“One of the benefits of the RFAS is that it will provide accurate, robust and transparent renewable fuel GHG emissions data, and assist fleet operator decision making and reporting with regards to choosing sustainable low carbon solutions.”
The RFAS scheme approval criteria is as follows:
Greenhouse gas emission savings thresholds
- 65% GHG savings for the renewable fraction.
- 70% GHG savings for development fuels (such as renewable hydrogen).
- 10% GHG savings for the total renewable fuel blend based on a life-cycle methodology and measured against a fossil fuel comparator (83.8 gCO2e/MJ).
Feedstock Sustainability
- Protection of land and biodiversity.
- Use of waste as a resource, with a chain of custody to show provenance of the biomass wastes.
- Use of renewable energy and resources for producing renewable fuels of non-biological origin such as hydrogen.
Supply Chain Traceability
- The renewable fuel supply chain shall be traceable from feedstock origin to customer refuelling depot in terms of greenhouse gas emission and sustainability performance.
We at Marshall Leasing are always interested to hear about the latest measures put in place to improve fleet efficiency and decision making, including decarbonisation solutions. We trust that you find this information useful. If you would like to find out more about how our team of dedicated experts can assist with your fleet requirements, please get in touch with us by emailing info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or calling 01480 414541.
Back