Fleet News and UK100 hosted the first Clean Air Declaration roundtable on October 8 at Fleet Live, with political leaders and major fleets coming together to discuss an air quality action plan.

The discussions, sponsored by ALD, Enterprise Group and Geotab, had three objectives:

• to form a consensus between local authorities and business for the need to take urgent action on clean air;
• to identify the priorities that the Government needs to put in place to help local authorities and business; and
• to advocate and communicate action plans to a wider audience.

Those conclusions were subsequently taken forward to the Clean Air Summit, hosted by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, at which local authorities and businesses – including Fleet News – signed up to the declaration (full story in Fleet News, November 28).

Dom Goggins, advisory council member of UK100, the network of local government leaders, who have pledged to shift to 100% clean energy by 2050, told delegates: “Local authorities are being put under pressure by Government without, in some cases, having the powers and resources to put those ambitious plans together.”

However, he pointed to the impending Environment Bill which will contains new targets for air quality, and the next spending review which needs “a good deal for clean air”, including support for vehicle renewal schemes.

Among the delegates attending the first roundtable were fleet bosses from Royal Mail, National Grid, The AA, Amey and FedEx, plus ACFO vice-chair Stewart Lightbody and BVRLA senior policy advisor Catherine Bowen.

They were able to put across the business challenges related to air quality and clean air zones to city councillors from Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford.