Calls for EVs in UK Public Procurement
The UK Department of Health’s main advisory body to the country’s National Health Service has called for public sector bodies to purchase electric vehicles.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance suggesting governmental organizations can help reduce air pollution levels if they purchase EVs or hybrids when their existing ones cease to function effectively. This comes despite recent evidence from Ricardo showing EVs can be just as heavy polluters as diesel-fueled vehicles if their powertrains are fitted with incorrectly-sized batteries.
In its new draft guidance paper, Air Pollution: Outdoor Air Quality and Health, NICE also calls for local government and NHS organizations to identify how they plan to reduce emissions made by their existing vehicle fleets. It claims driver training on “techniques such as smooth acceleration and braking, not over-revving the engine, efficient gear-changing, no idling when parked or making a delivery and ensuring tires are inflated to the correct level” can help to do this. NICE deputy CEO Professor Gillian Leng said: “Organizations should make low vehicle emissions one of the key criteria when making routine procurement decisions. This could include selecting low-emission vehicles, including EVs”.
