Chris Rutherford

Fleet and Depot Manager, London Borough of Islington

Islington's Fleet and Depot Manager, Chris Rutherford, is passionate about making the council's vehicle fleet as green as can be. And his efforts have paid off. This year, Islington bagged the top spot at the 'European Public Sector Fleet of the Year' awards at the European Greenfleet Awards and Chris himself was named European Fleet Manager of the Year. The fact that London's smallest borough's fleet is named as the greenest public sector fleet in Europe is no mean feat and is underpinned by Chris' personal commitment, proactively and sheer determination. Our fleet contains some of the most environmentally-friendly vehicles on the market, plus our largest vehicles now run on bio-diesel and pure plant oil, reducing our emissions by up to 70%. The savings made across the entire fleet due to fuel reductions, congestion charge savings and raising our profile for grants has saved the council over £200k and almost 200 tonnes of CO2. If that wasn't enough, Chris' recent work to help re-brand the fleet has quite 'literally' made our vehicles the greenest in town, but is also helping to spread the word to our residents about the role they can play in protecting the environment.