Green Fleet Initiatives

Green Fleet Action Plan

To support the City’s sustainability goals, the Equipment Management Division (EMD) seeks to improve air quality, reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce environmental impact, control costs, and reduce fleet emissions. The City of Tulsa’s Green Fleet Action Plan (GFAP) addresses the management, operation and procurement of vehicles and equipment in order to improve energy efficiency, reduce petroleum consumption, and reduce harmful emissions. 

Green Fleet Accomplishments

1. Honored in 2020 as the #1 Green Garage winner by the 100 Best Fleets Organization and National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA)
2. Attained CLEAN Fleet Certification (CFC) in 2016 through the Coalition for Green Fleet Management. The CFC is a national program to certify both private and public fleet operations as energy efficient and environmentally responsible. 
3. Honored eight consecutive years as a top-50 green fleet by the 100 Best Fleets Organization
4. Awarded Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant to install public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations and purchase electric vehicles.
5. Operate four Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling stations; two for the City’s fleet and two for the public.
6. Technicians are certified with the Oklahoma Department of Labor to maintain and repair the City’s CNG vehicles and infrastructure.
7. Installed public-private Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in four downtown parking garages and at one EMD maintenance facility.
8. Use propane to fuel generators and off-road equipment.
9. EMD has obtained grants and donations totaling $1.2 million for alternative fueled vehicles and infrastructure.
10. Annually participate in the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) Ozone Alert! Program and serve as an Ozone Ambassador.
11. Tulsa Area Clean Cities Coalition (TACC) member. The TACC promotes the use of alternative fuel vehicles, to increase energy security, reduce fleet operating costs, and improve the environment. 
12. Started the Oklahoma Public Fleet Management Association (OPFMA) in 2013 to promote fleet best practices and clean fleet initiatives among Oklahoma’s government fleet professionals.
13. EMD annually recycles used oil in waste oil heaters to heat maintenance shops during the winter.
14. EMD shops are designated as active recycling sites (ARS).  Employees annually train to properly recycle metals, antifreeze, batteries, oils, tires, shipping materials, plastics, paper, aluminum, oil filters, and office products.  
15. The City partners with the Tulsa Transit Authority to offer discounted bus passes to employees. Employees can purchase a monthly bus pass for unlimited rides to and from work. The employee cost is $3 per month while the City pays $42. The $3-per-month employee cost calculates to a transportation cost of $0.15 per day. An employee that spends $30/week for gas could ride the bus and reduce their monthly transportation costs by $117 or 97 percent. Riding the bus also benefits the environment, because employees travel to work in a CNG bus instead of a gasoline-fueled vehicle.
16. Low watt CFL & LED lighting is used in the shops, at fuel islands, and at car/truck washing stations. This provides a brighter work space and reduces energy and maintenance costs.
17. Car washes are outfitted with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices to eliminate unauthorized usage, and to efficiently control the number of wash cycles. Lighting is set by a timer at fueling and car/truck wash facilities to automatically turn off lights when the facilities are not in use or when it is daylight.

Green Fleet Strategies

• Convert up to 20 percent of the City’s fleet to alternative fueled vehicles (AFVs) such as dedicated or bi-fuel Compressed Natural Gas, hybrid, electric, flex-fuel, and clean diesel units that have near zero particulate emissions.
• Convert off-road equipment such as mowers and forklifts to Propane-fueled units.
• Install public-private Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations and CNG fueling stations.
• Install diesel particulate filters and diesel oxidation catalysts in heavy trucks and equipment.
• Install anti-idling technology in vehicles to turn off the engine once idling exceeds a preprogrammed amount of time.
• Utilize GPS and AVL telematics to help reduce idling, reduce driving time, plan more efficient routes, and eliminate wasteful driving habits.
• Annually produce an Automotive Life-End Replacement Tool (ALERT) that identifies which vehicles are the oldest in the fleet, cost the most money to repair, consume the most fuel, achieve the worst fuel efficiency, and produce the greatest CO2 emissions.
• Collaborate with departments to right-size vehicles for their intended purpose. Reducing vehicle sizes and weights where possible will lead to reduced fuel usage.
• Promote the use of AFV’s for out of town trips (e.g. Bi-Fuel motor pool unit).
• Reduce fuel and resources used by leaving equipment on-site during extended projects.
• Practice good engine maintenance to meet original standards, and properly train operators to run equipment efficiently.
• Consider the use of multipurpose equipment as part of the replacement planning process to reduce the amount of equipment and the associated emissions including fuel consumption.
• Enforce an environmentally preferable purchasing policy and review all specifications to ensure green options are included where feasible.
• Research and annually apply for federal, state, and local grants that fund alternative fueled vehicles and infrastructure.
• Ensure the long range capital plan includes funding to replace petroleum fueled vehicles with AVFs.

Green Fleet Policies

• The City’s Sustainability Plan and Tulsa's Revised Ordinances (Title 12) mandate the purchase of fuel efficient and alternative fueled vehicles.
• The City's Utilization Management Policy stipulates that alternatives to owning vehicles or motorized equipment should be considered when fleet units are underutilized. Alternatives include the use of pool vehicles, use of a personal vehicle, increasing sharing between departments, and establishment of on-demand short-term rental contracts. According to the policy, the EMD is required to generate an Annual Utilization Report for vehicles and motorized equipment. The Annual Utilization Report is presented to the Fleet Management Steering Committee (FMSC) and identifies: a) vehicles in-service a minimum of 12-months and utilized less than 2,500 miles per year; and, b) motorized equipment in-service a minimum of 12 months and utilized less than 12 hours per year. Department representatives must appear before the FMSC and justify retaining these units. The FMSC will consider justification responses and then approve one of the following actions: 1) removal from the fleet; 2) re-assignment of the unit; 3) exchange for another unit of a similar type with higher miles/hours; or, 4) exchange for a different type of unit that better suits the mission.