SP0212: SAVR Initiative - Electric Vehicle Subsidy

Status: ONGOING March 2019 - 

The goal of the Electric Vehicle Subsidy (formerly known as the Sustainable Alternative for Vehicle Replacement - SAVR) is to support transition of unit fleet vehicles to sustainable alternatives by subsidizing vehicle purchase costs while decarbonizing our fleet by reducing fuel consumption & greenhouse gas emissions.

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McGill University has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 as a key long-term target in its "Vision 2020: Climate & Sustainability Action Plan". Our vehicle fleet is included in our inventory scope and carbon neutrality target, and requires reductions. The Plan also includes a short-term priority action (Operations: 1) to address greenhouse gas emissions from McGill's fleet by developing a Sustainable Vehicle Management Program (SVMP). Fleet emissions accounted for 584 tCO2e in 2017 and currently there are very few sustainable alternatives in our fleet. To reduce emissions we need to decarbonize the fleet by decreasing the share of conventional fuel vehicles & increasing overall vehicle fuel efficiency.

The Sustainable Alternatives for Vehicle Replacement (SAVR) Subsidy Fund to act as an internal subsidy & make sustainable vehicle purchase options financially accessible to units during first 5 years of McGill's SVMP.

The fund's lifespan will be from 2019 to 2023 (next SPF referendum year). While SPF project timelines are typically one year, a 1-year fund could incentivize units to replace vehicles before the end of their useful lifetime; this is counter to sustainable life cycle goals. We would also miss opportunities for replacements on the two to five year horizon. Per ARI Insights (the fleet management tool), the average McGill vehicle lifespan is long (77 per cent of vehicles are six years or older); therefore, units would become locked in to fuel-intensive technologies for many years, increasing our legacy footprint & limiting chances for incremental fuel + emissions savings. A five-year fund addresses these concerns. 

The SAVR Initiative will be open to all units at McGill's Quebec campuses who agree to the conditions. The Fund will subsidize the purchase of hybrid, plug-in hybrid & e-vehicles. 

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  Photos to come.

Connect with this project

 

Group

McGill Office of Sustainability

Contact

ali.rivers [at] mcgill.ca (subject: SAVR%20Initiative) (Ali Rivers, Climate Officer)

Related Projects

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