Sustainability and how we care for our environment
1. Transport
South Wales Police covers a large and varied geographical area of 812 square miles, serving 1.3 million people, representing 42% of the Welsh population, and dealing with around half of the total crime recorded in Wales.
We have around 6,000 employees, with about 1,200 based at our Bridgend headquarters.
We not only need to transition our own fleet to low-carbon alternatives, but provide the infrastructure for staff to travel actively and to transition their own vehicles to low-carbon alternatives over the next 10 years.
We currently operate a fleet of more than 900 vehicles, for a wide range of requirements from basic transport to front line policing and an array of specialist roles. Annual revenue costs of fleet services is around £6 million with an annual capital replacement programme of around £2 million. The annual mileage of all vehicles within the fleet is approximately 10 million miles.
In 2015, the fleet department was centralised and amalgamated with the fleet department for Bridgend County Borough Council, forming a collaborative facility at Ty Richard Thomas, Brackla Industrial Estate, Bridgend, saving £2.6 million.
Making a Start
Fleet
In 2022, we prepared a full fleet transition strategy for the transition to ULEV. We currently have 29 fully electric vehicles on the fleet and more than 80 hybrid vehicles. We’re planning to increase the rate of procurement of further ULEV over the next few years as our charging infrastructure continues to roll out.
Staff Vehicles and Commuting
We have flexible working arrangements for staff who can work from home and promote active travel opportunities to staff such as cycle to work, with shower facilities available, but we recognise more work is required to implement staff charging facilities.
Supportive PolicySouth Wales Police Fleet Strategy was finalised in 2022 setting out a route map for transitioning the force Fleet to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, accompanied by a charging infrastructure review. This includes a consideration of agility and digital transformation that will impact the functionality of fleet. We calculated the impact of commuting and staff travel as part of our Net Zero commitments in 2023, and prepared targeted inventions and actions to address. |
Ambition: The Scale and Pace of the Challenge
Within our fleet transition strategy and our overall commitment to Net Zero 2030, we've identified a suite of ambitious targets and actions.
The following are our key areas:
| Area of focus | Key actions |
|---|---|
| 1. Fleet Transition to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) | ULEV Transition (Fleet). Fleet and wider emergency services and public sector groups to prepare a fleet strategy, ideally homogenised with other public sector organisations across the region. |
| 2. Provision of charging infrastructure and low carbon fuel |
Review electrical capacity at all sites to support rollout of charging infrastructure. Prepare a charging infrastructure strategy and supporting charging policy to determine type, capacity and software for ULEV charging, aligned with wider public sector stakeholders with supporting policy to determine procedure of staff charging at South Wales Police sites utilising electric fuel cards. Roll-out electrical charging infrastructure forcewide. Request upgrades via Western Power where required. Electrical vehicle charging points currently to be prioritised in headquarters, Bridewells, Ty Richard Thomas, Kingsway, Lakeside and Gwaelod-y-Garth. Investigate potential for hydrogen fuel production, storage, distribution and use. |
| 3. Facilitating staff ULEV | Investigate an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme for staff. |
| 4. Staff Active Travel Survey |
Review staff commuting and travel habits and prepare a green travel plan. Promote active travel options with staff and understand barriers and potential incentives to encourage active travel. Promote 'agile working' to support flexible working from home and facilitate the need to reduce permanent desk space required. Promote cycle-to-work scheme to encourage active travel. Assess and provide secure cycle storage and showers at all main sites. |
Our Fleet Transition Roadmap
| Year | Target |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Review fleet Understand charging requirements on estate EV infrastructure planning |
| 2023 | 20% of non-operational vehicles ordered as full electric |
| 2024 | 50% of EV charging infrastructure in place |
| 2025 | 50% of new vehicles to be ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV) |
| 2026 | All non-operational vehicles purchased to be ULEV or hybrid |
| 2028 | EV charging infrastructure in place |
| 2030 | 80% of procured response fleet to be ULEV or plug-in hybrid |
