Scania Puts the Spotlight on Greener and Safer Transport in The UK

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--On Tuesday 26 June, 2007, Scania (STO:SCVA) (STO:SCVB) brought together leading politicians and industry representatives from the transport and environment sectors to discuss greener and safer transport in the UK.

The seminar held in London was attended by over 100 delegates from the transport and environment sectors across the UK, who heard a keynote address from Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, Minister of State for Transport, in which he stated:

“By introducing an obligation to use biofuels the Government will cut carbon emissions from transport by 1 million tonnes by 2010, the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road.

“We are determined that the biofuels we use should be genuinely sustainable, generating real carbon savings. We are putting safeguards in place to make sure this happens, so that biofuels can play their part in reducing the impact of transport on the environment.”

This was followed by a presentation from Urban Johansson, Senior Vice-President of Powertrain Development, Scania who commented:

“Today biofuels constitute only a tiny proportion of the transport fuels in Europe and globally. In the EU the Council of Minister want the use to grow to 10 percent by 2020. Scania believes the goal is achievable, but it requires efforts from all involved: increased production in Europe, more imports and a change in regulations and taxing schemes to stimulate their use.

“However, we must be able to trust renewable fuels, and it is important for us all that a trustworthy system for certification and marking of biofuels is developed. Biofuels must also give good net reductions in C02 emissions and not compete with food production or threaten biodiversity.”

A lively interactive panel discussion then took place in which the challenges and issues around green and safer transport were debated and examples of best practice and possible solutions were shared. The panel consisted of leading politicians and experts.

Issues under debate included how to ensure biofuel production is sustainable and does not impact the environment adversely, how London will cope with the transportation and environmental issues around hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, and in relation to road safety how to get the messages across about drink and drugs especially among young drivers. Scania and biofuels

• Scania built its first ethanol engine in 1916 to combat fuel shortages during the First World War.
• In the mid-1980s, Scania began to develop ethanol-adapted diesel engines for city buses.
• Adapting a diesel engine to run on ethanol is a cost-effective solution as existing technology and components can be used.
• Since 1989, Scania has delivered approximately 600 buses with ethanol-powered engines, predominately to Swedish urban transport authorities.
• Eighteen Scania ethanol buses go into operation in Oslo, Norway, in March 2008 to help reduce carbone dioxide emissions by 600 tonnes per year and enable the city’s public transport to become biofuel powered.
• Scania has begun to supply such buses for testing by public transport systems in Great Britain, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain and China.
• Scania has joined forces with Neste in Finland to trial new low-emission bio-based diesel fuel.
• With start in 2008, Scania will carry out testing of electric hybrid buses in collaboration with SL, regional public transport company in Stockholm.

Scania and Road Safety

With more than 300,000 Scania trucks in operation on European roads, road safety in Europe is one of Scania’s main responsibilities. It does this by working to raise awareness of the importance of road safety among the public, regulator, customers and drivers to help reduce the number of fatal road accidents annually involving heavy trucks. In addition, Scania endorses the UN's World Report on road traffic injury prevention.

Scania Young European Truck Driver 2007 (YETD 2007) competition is part of the company’s long-term drive to improve traffic safety and the status of professional drivers. It is also designed to complement the European Commission’s safety target of halving the number of traffic fatalities by 2010. YETD is a part of the global initiative set up by Scania in 2003 aiming to promote responsible driving, highlight road safety and attract more young drivers into the industry.

By training and educating drivers, road safety will be improved as well as contribute to less environmental impact and reduce the operator’s costs.

Scania also makes road safety a top priority in research and development work and focus on ways to support the driver to make the right decisions.