The University of Dundee has invested almost £70,000 in three new electric vans, an electric car and 12 electric bikes in order to cut its carbon footprint.
The university received funding from Transport Scotland to purchase the vehicles which are predicted to slash nine tonnes of carbon off the university’s annual carbon footprint. In addition, the electric vehicle fleet is estimated to save Dundee University over £10,000 in fuel costs and maintenance costs.
In total, the university now operates seven all-electric vans, one electric car and one hybrid flatbed truck. Trudy Cunningham, environment and sustainability officer at Dundee University explained that the investment in electric vehicles was another step towards the university’s ambition to eradicate all carbon emissions. She said: “Ultimately we want to be a zero-emission university and these vehicles are another step in that direction. Not only do we want our transport choices to be as green as possible, we want to help staff and students to make those choices as well.”
The university’s electric bikes, funded by a grant from TACTRAN, will be available to hire for staff and students through a cycle-hire shop on campus. Cunningham added: “In addition to being able to hire electric bikes, our liftshare is the biggest and best-used in the Scottish higher education sector and the percentage of low-energy vehicles in our estates fleet is also now the highest of any university in Scotland.”
In addition, the university has invested in 23 ‘Big Belly’ solar-powered bins, which prevent overflowing by compacting its contents with energy generated from solar panels, reducing the number of collections required.
.
.