Green Gown Awards 2017 - University of the West of England, Bristol - Finalist

Rather than just one single project the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE Bristol) has launched several forms of electric transport around our campuses, including: innovative hybrid buses, e-bikes, electric pool cars and vans, and even some buggies and electric equipment for our grounds’ team. 

Through various initiatives, we have encouraged and incentivised the use of electric modes of transport over more conventional polluting methods.  

This has resulted in a major reduction in CO2 emissions and cost and has helped drive innovation and research. Perhaps most importantly, it is helping change attitudes and behaviours towards electric powered vehicles contributing to the vision of a clean air city. 

Top 3 learnings:

1 One of the hardest selling points has been range where in reality range anxiety is not a barrier as daily mileage is usually low and there are now very good PHEV options for longer trips. 

2 Getting the infrastructure in place is critical and can be an expensive factor when converting vehicle fleets. 

3 Thankfully, we made the early decision to use only renewable energy as this really helps maximise the carbon savings. The other big selling point for us has been in helping to improve air quality on our sites as our staff and students are not breathing any exhaust fumes from or EV fleet on campus. 

Videos

• Together in electric dreams (click to hide)