Earlier this year M Group Services announced its commitment to halve (Scope 1 & 2) carbon
emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero before 2050. One of the ways we are working towards
achieving this goal is by rolling out sustainable fuel across our core fleet of vehicles.
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a diesel substitute. M Group Services and its operating
businesses are switching to HVO as part of the move away from fossil fuels.
HVO is made from a blend of renewable and sustainable feedstocks such as vegetable and animal
oils and waste fats. The fuel only uses waste products not virgin crops meaning we are
repurposing waste to help the planet. We are proud to be working with Green BioFuels (GBF) in
the sourcing and supply of our HVO. With their help we avoid issues of deforestation and palm oil
use which, on occasion, can be associated with HVO use from less sustainable sources.
This substitute is more environmentally friendly than petrol or diesel, it reduces CO2 emissions by
90%, particulates, also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, by 85% and reduces Nitrogen
Oxide (NOx) emissions by almost a third (30%). With every 330 litres of HVO used we can save up
to one tonne of CO2.
At present, HVO can be used in 7.5 tonne sized vehicles and above. It can also be used in plant
and equipment hired through M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions (MGSPFS). Currently,
MGSPFS, Milestone Infrastructure and Morrison Water Services (Yorkshire Water contract) are
using the sustainable fuel source.
Mark Hamilton, Managing Director of M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions, said: “Changing to
HVO offers an immediate and practical route away from the use of fossil fuels. It’s another great
example of the measures we are taking to de-carbonise our work and aligns with our net-zero
targets.”
The switch to HVO is a crucial first step in moving towards cleaner fuel but M Group Services is
going one step further. We are committed to transitioning our core fleet of over 8,000 vehicles to
electric, as well as installing 75 charging locations on our sites across the UK by 2030. This is in
line with The Climate Group’s EV100 global initiative which is bringing together companies
committed to switching their owned and contracted fleets up to 7.5t to electric.
Providing charging points is hugely important to us as part of our own commitment to achieving
net-zero. We are also focused on delivering an EV charging infrastructure to the public. Morrison
Energy Services is part of a framework agreement with Be.EV, the biggest public charging network
in Greater Manchester that is expanding dramatically across the whole of the north of England.
This contract involves us installing 1,000 chargers and four big charging hubs across the North of
England.