Scania puts the spotlight on greener and safer transport in the UK

Scania puts the spotlight on greener and safer transport in the UK

On Tuesday 26 June, Scania 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.


For further information, please contact:

- Jenny Persson, Public and Environmental Affairs, tel +46 70 370 14 74
- Hans-Åke Danielsson, Press Manager, tel +46 8 553 856 62





Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy
transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. A growing
proportion of the company's operations consists of products and services in the
financial and service sectors, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective
transport solutions and maximum uptime. Employing 32,800 people, Scania operates
in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in
Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with
facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In
2006, invoiced sales totalled SEK 70.7 billion and the net income amounted to
SEK 5.9 billion. 


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