Retailers call on government to accelerate use of green goods vehicles

The call comes as a new report by BearingPoint, commissioned by the BRC and DP World as part of the BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap, has found that 88% of retailers operating in-house fleets have some type of green fuelled vehicle, but only one-quarter of these were operating them on a large scale.

The BRC’s letter makes three recommendations:

• Financial incentives: To encourage the uptake of green fuelled vehicles. For instance, a 0% VAT rate for new green vehicle purchases would greatly boost their uptake by businesses.
• Improved Infrastructure: Accelerated roll-out of public charging and fuelling infrastructure for green vehicles, particularly along major trunk roads.
• Legislation: The government should legislate timescales for phasing out petrol- and diesel-fuelled heavy goods vehicles.

Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers and fleet operators are making decisions in the next few years about the vehicles that will be operating in 2030 and beyond. This is why it’s so important to make sure that green fuel options are not only available, but invested in.

“Government has a key part to play, not just in encouraging the take up of these technologies, but also in supporting further research and development in this area. If the UK is to become a world leader in the transition to net-zero, we need action today.”