City of Long Beach Fleet Achieves Top-Tier Sustainability Accreditation

The City of Long Beach Fleet Services Bureau has achieved a Tier Four ranking with the NAFA Sustainable Fleet Accreditation Program, which is the highest ranking of the five levels of the program.

“Fleet Services has been focusing on alternative and renewable fuels in order to take the City’s Green Fleet Program to the next level,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “We are always striving to become greener and more efficient, and we are proud to be sustainability leaders in the fleet industry.”

Currently, 34 fleets nationwide are accredited from Tier One to Tier Four, including nine California cities and counties. Tiers are assigned by awarding points for current sustainability efforts. To earn a Tier Four accreditation, fleets must score 80 or more points out of 125 on a number of criteria including: emissions reduction, fuel efficiency, and air quality improvement.

The program is currently the worldwide standard for recognizing concrete improvements in air quality through reducing emissions, increasing fuel efficiency, and reducing fuel use.

Long Beach’s Fleet Services Bureau has a strong record of sustainability, and years of alternative fuel experience, reducing emissions and fossil fuel use. This year the City opened a new $3.9 million CNG station capable of fueling 100 heavy duty vehicles. According to last year’s figures, all natural gas and diesel that the fleet uses have been transitioned to 100 percent renewables, which is 52 percent of total fuel used.

In June 2017, the City’s fleet ranked Top Ten best government fleet out of thousands of fleet operations in the nation, in the Government Fleet magazine and American Public Works Association (APWA) 2017 Leading Fleets competition. The City’s fleet was also recognized as one of the Top 50 Green Fleets in Heavy Duty Trucking magazine’s 2016 competition, and #27 Government Green Fleet in the 2017 Green Fleet Awards.