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.

We also committed to joining the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative earlier this year. More than 12,000 companies based in over 160 countries have agreed to take action to advance societal and environmental goals.

The UN Global Compact centres around 10 principles on environment, human rights, labour and anti-corruption and M Group Services has adopted these principles as part of its strategy, culture and day-to-day operation in order to make a real difference.

Our commitment to achieving net-zero is further reinforced by our support for the Science based Targets initiative (SBTi) which aims to limit global warming to 1.5^oC and cut carbon emissions.