Fleets Forum Centers Equity in Decision Making on Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Centering Equity in Fleet Decisions

Fleet managers are increasingly motivated to switch to biodiesel and electric vehicles (EVs). Lower maintenance costs, corporate and social goals, and federal rules tend to get people started. However, Antoine Thompson, CEO and executive director of Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC), and his staff are helping fleet managers see how their decisions impact communities in other ways.

“Once fleet managers understand the connection between fleet emissions and asthma, heart, and lung disease—and the disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color—they are interested in learning how to increase equity in their operations,” Thompson said.

Inequity in Health Outcomes

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as buses, accounted for less than 5% of vehicles on the road but contributed 21% of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2019. Traffic-related air pollution is extensively linked to childhood asthma and morbidity, especially particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). A study from Clean Fuels Alliance America estimates that substituting diesel fuel with biomass-based diesel in transportation sources would provide a health benefit value to Washington, D.C. of $262 million from avoided cases of asthma and reduced cancer risk, based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment. This research has helped GWRCCC substantiate the need to consider equity in fleet decisions.

The discussion of equity in fleets has scaled up due to the efforts of GWRCCC and Clean Fuels Alliance America (CFAA). Through an Environmental Justice Community Forum Series, they’ve brought more people to the table in D.C., Newark, Burlington, Vermont, and Philadelphia. The Forum Series raised awareness and fostered dialogue on environmental justice and biodiesel’s role in underserved communities. Coalition events have included a community forum with Vermont Clean Cities Coalition and South Burlington elected officials and community members; an event with the D.C. AfroLatino Caucus; listening sessions at the Anacostia Library and Prince George’s County library; and a recorded webinar on fleet equity.

Impacting the Decision-Making of Fleet Managers

With policymakers and fleet managers of commercial transport, city and county school buses, and public transportation, the GWRCCC forum focuses particularly on accelerating the replacement of diesel fuel with biodiesel in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. This initial clean transportation strategy provides immediate community health benefits, reducing asthma, the risk of cancer, and premature death. Thompson says fleets they are working with have not historically considered equity in decision-making. But new guidance on procurement, deployment, and maintenance of fleets has a large impact on equity at every step of the process. Now the coalition makes equity central to all guidance to advance clean transportation, including technical assistance, de-risking purchasing strategies, increasing awareness of tax credits and grants, and guidance on further funding and regulatory requirements.

GWRCCC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are partnering on recommendations for centering equity in fleet operations. GWRCCC’s Thompson and Durell Jones, GWRCC Community Engagement Liaison, authored a Fleet Electrification Solutions Center, a free online resource connecting fleet electrification needs to solutions. Jones explains it is critical to address environmental issues with underserved communities, as they often face the worst of increasing pollution and climate impacts.

“I was surprised by how much damage was being done in the communities on a regular basis,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t have known about the health impacts without doing this work, and it has lit a fire in me.”

Expanding Reach with Impassioned Community Leaders

Understanding the opportunity presented by expanding equity in fleet transitions to clean energy has increased Thompson’s passion for this work.

“Fleet equity in the EV transition requires conviction, leadership, a vision, and a plan for progress,” Thompson said. “It won't happen without bringing people together—from the frontline workers to management and executive leadership—and the communities where fleets operate. We must be intentional in targeting the communities who suffer the most.”

GWRCCC feels their impact in this work is just getting started and, given its importance, they have assembled a group of passionate public service advisors, the Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership, a U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office-funded collaboration among coalitions in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia to distribute public chargers in neighborhoods that don’t have them.