SANTA ANA, CA - The City of Santa Ana adopted a five-year plan to create environmentally responsible facilities, fleet, and stores operation, focusing heavily on alternative fuels and fuel efficiency. The fleet's new sustainability plan, developed in conjunction with Strategic Solutions, aims to operate a fleet powered by 75 to 80 percent renewable and sustainable energy in the next five years and to decrease the fleet by 10-15 percent in the next 1-2 years.

If achieved, a 75 percent alternative energy fleet can result in cost savings of about $1 million annually in addition to reducing harmful emissions. Equipment replacement cost will be weighed against environmental hazards to determine which units will be converted. Currently, five percent of the City's 900 vehicles operate on alternative fuels.

By removing underutilized vehicles (operating less than 3,000 miles or 2,000 hours), the City hopes to decrease fleet size by 10-15 percent in the next one to two years. Fleet will also rightsize vehicles to user application.

Future goals include:

• A proposal to allow employees to check out alt-fueled motor pool cars for commuting to increase utilization, generate loan fees, and decrease car allowance costs.

• Discounts and a city-managed car loan program for residents for alt-fuel vehicles.

• Waste management and recycling at the facility.

• Transform facilities into a designated Green Model Shop.

The City already uses particulate traps, GPS, vehicle inspection and tracking devices, and route optimization to reduce emissions. Rick Longobart, facilities, fleet, and central stores manager at the City of Santa Ana, earned a 2010 Environmental Leadership Award and was nominated for the 2011 Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year award.