Business and Transport Sectors Can Reduce CO2 Emissions Through Cleaner Fuels
The transport and business sectors are the UK’s largest and third largest contributors of greenhouse gases, according to the data about CO2 emissions in the most recent report, ‘UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions’ by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
With 460.2 million tonnes of CO2 emitted in the UK during 2017, the business and transport sectors were among the slowest industries to reduce their carbon footprint. That’s compared with 2016 where transport saw a zero reduction in greenhouse gases and business registered a two per cent decrease in CO2.
The research also shows that since 1999, light-duty vehicles (LDVs), railway and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are actually contributing more CO2 in 2017 than they were in 1999. LDVs have seen a 36 per cent increase in CO2 emissions since 1999, while railways registered an 18 per cent increase and HGVs contributed four per cent more CO2 than they did in 1999.
Meanwhile, land use is now absorbing more CO2 than in 1999, by a measure of 189 per cent.
Overall, CO2 emissions have reduced by 47 per cent since 10 years ago, when the UK produced 708.2 million tonnes of CO2 – mostly from a decreased reliance of coal in the energy supply sector, which used to be the UK’s ‘dirtiest’ sector.
How to improve while reliance on fuel and oil won’t diminish any time soon, businesses would do well to do what they can to clean up their emissions – and one way to do this is through ‘better’ fuels. Crown Oil offers several options that will help all businesses to lower their CO2 emissions when it comes to their heating, power generation and fleet fuelling requirements. Most businesses will use red diesel or kerosene for their heating and power generation requirements, while the road transport sector relies on regular diesel to fuel their fleets.
However, there are more efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel and kerosene, and often these fuels are fully interchangeable. Alternative fuels businesses that rely on fuel should consider alternatives to heating oils, such as carbon offset red diesel; industrial heating oil (IHO); Crown CHP biofuel; and Kleenburn Kerosene. For road-going vehicles, HVO fuel is a renewable alternative to regular diesel for trucks that have OEM approvals (such as DAF, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Scania among others) and offers up to 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. On top of cleaner fuels, fuel management services worth considering to help businesses that rely on fuel use their fuel in an optimised way.
| Sector | 1999 | 2009 | 2016 | 2017 | Year on Year Change (%) | 10-yr Change (%) | 20-yr Change (%) |
| Energy supply | 212.6 | 200.4 | 121.8 | 112.6 | -8% | -44% | -47% |
| Business | 114.9 | 91.2 | 81.4 | 80.1 | -2% | -12% | -30% |
| Transport | 135.1 | 126.4 | 125.9 | 125.9 | 0% | 0% | -7% |
| Public | 12.8 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 7.8 | -4% | -12% | -39% |
| Residential | 88.4 | 78 | 69.8 | 66.9 | -4% | -14% | -24% |
| Agriculture | 52.8 | 44.4 | 45.2 | 45.6 | 1% | 3% | -14% |
| Industrial processes | 29.9 | 11.8 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 2% | -8% | -64% |
| Land use, land use change and forestry | -3.4 | -8.8 | -9.8 | -9.9 | 1% | 12% | 189% |
| Waste management | 65.2 | 34.3 | 20 | 20.3 | 1% | -41% | -69% |
| Grand Total | 708.2 | 586.7 | 473.1 | 460.2 | -3% | -22% | -35% |
As one of the UK’s leading fuels suppliers, we’re well placed to help your business anywhere in the UK. If you would like to discuss your alternative fuel options and requirements with one of our friendly and knowledgeable team, get in touch with us today on 0330 123 1444 to see how we can help you.
