Forth Valley College have made their car fleet more environmentally friendly by teaming up with Falkirk Council, the Energy Saving Trust and Chequered Flag.
As part of the Community Planning Partnership with Falkirk Council, the college were invited as a partner to benefit from the Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund. This opportunity has allowed Forth Valley College to increase their green fleet and recently took delivery of two Kia Soul electric cars and are also earmarked to receive a Renault Kangoo electric van in March – all on a three year lease agreement.
The new green fleet is sparking interest from FVC staff who are being offered free electric car driver training through the Energy Saving Trust and their FuelGood driving training scheme. Driving Instructor specialists from Chequered Flag have been visiting the college recently to train staff in electric vehicle familiarisation, and coach them on specific driving techniques in order to reduce carbon footprint.
Forth Valley College Principal Dr Ken Thomson was one of the first to undergo the training. He said: “This training was an excellent opportunity to tie in with the new vehicles, but also to give staff the chance to possibly learn the benefits of driving an electric vehicle. It was great to see how efficient you can be on the road and I for one will certainly be using our new electric vehicles regularly.
“We can’t thank Falkirk Council and the Energy Saving Trust enough for giving us this opportunity to ‘green’ our fleet, and thanks to the Chequered Flag for their professional advice and training.”
Neil Fotheringham, Managing Director from, Chequered Flag, said: “The staff have adapted successfully to the “Winning Formula” with the proactive driving techniques. This in turn will produce significant improvements in both vehicle battery range and reduction in carbon emissions.”
For more information, please contact pauline.donaldson@forthvalley.ac.uk or nicola.mcmahon@forthvalley.ac.uk
