SACRAMENTO, CA – The City of Sacramento’s Fleet Management division, which is part of the City’s General Services department, received an award from Breathe California of Sacramento that named the organization the 2011 Clean Air Champion Government Award winner.

According to the City, Breathe California of Sacramento gives the award to public agencies or individuals in government whose efforts result in the design and implementation of cost-effective clean air programs, increased public support for clean air, and new public policies to improve air quality.

The City fleet currently consists of 2,059 licensed, fuel-powered vehicles.  On average, these vehicles travel about 17.2 million miles annually consuming approximately 2.1 million gallons of petroleum-based fossil fuel, 413,982 gallons.

Keith Leech, Fleet Manager, accepted the award on behalf of the City of Sacramento Fleet at the 35th Annual Sacramento Breathe California Clean Air Awards luncheon on May 20 at California State University Sacramento.

The City of Sacramento’s Fleet Management division has championed a number of efforts in the field of clean air programs, beginning with the implementation of its first Fleet Sustainability Policy in 1995. Since then, Fleet Management has returned to the City Council annually to build on the sustainability strategies adopted in 2005. The Fleet Sustainability Policy that created the Sustainable Fleet Program was adopted by the Sacramento City Council in 2007.

Some of the primary goals of the policy related to clean air are as follows:

Aggressively incorporating low-emission vehicles into fleet operations.

Aggressively seeking fleet grants to convert, purchase and implement air quality improvements to existing and future fleet assets.

Continuously working with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) on reducing air emissions from the City’s fleet.

Actively participating with the Clean Cities Coalition to stay abreast of new innovative ideas and be willing to utilize City equipment to demonstrate promising technologies.

Annual purchases of Fleet replacement equipment will include a commitment of 30% for alternative fuel and/or alternatively powered vehicle replacements to reduce emissions and fossil fuel consumption.

Continue to reduce miles driven annually by fleet vehicles through decentralization of City operations.

Work with Sacramento City departments to develop an implementation plan for compliance of all existing diesel powered fleet equipment with the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resource Board Fleet Rule for Public Agencies and Utilities by calendar year end 2015.

Additionally, in 2009, the City of Sacramento Fleet Management division began implementing GPS and vehicle telemetrics in the fleet. Among the GPS system’s many capabilities is its ability to monitor the amount of time a vehicle idles, thus providing staff with accurate data to effectively reduce the amount of time a City driver allows a vehicle to idle. A Return on Investment (ROI) study quantified sizable increases in efficiency and savings after GPS telemetrics was implemented, according to the City’s Fleet Management division:

Fuel Efficiency:  Miles per Gallon (MPG) increased 8.14 percent

Usage Change: Route optimization increased usage savings up to 96 percent

Fuel Savings: Before and after analysis yields an average saving of 24.7 percent

Fuel Trend: A trend analysis projects additional future savings to be realized