Sustainability plan the way forward

Committing to a sustainable development plan is a major step in Police working toward carbon neutrality by 2012.

Stan Pope, National Procurement Manager, PNHQ, says Police will produce a sustainability plan by the end of this year.

The plan will outline steps Police will take to reduce consumption or improve efficiency in all the areas contributing to the organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s a high priority for government and it’s in our interests to review and implement as many changes as possible to minimise our environmental impact,” says Stan.

Police vehicles are an obvious source of emissions and will come under close scrutiny as a means to achieve some quick CO2 reductions.

“One strategy might be to swap some non-urgent duty petrol vehicles for diesel cars,” says Stan. “They have better fuel economy and fewer emissions.”

A capital programme is being developed to look at how many diesel vehicles could be brought in, following district consultation.

“Around 350 vehicles in a fleet of 3043 may be able to be switched to diesel.

“Fiscally, short-term it might have some negative impacts, but long-term it could well be both financially and environmentally sustainable.”

Stan says he believes national efforts will be appreciated at an individual level.

“There are a heck-of-a-lot of our staff who are keen on this from a personal perspective. Many staff are concerned about our environmental impact."

Stan points out that Police efforts to reduce its carbon footprint will be done within existing baseline funding.