On August 18, 2025, Council adopted the Saanich Zero Emission Fleet Strategy.
Saanich's road vehicle fleet comprises over 300 vehicles in total, across municipal, police and fire operations, and contributes to approximately half of our corporate GHG emissions with the remainder primarily associated with natural gas for building heating. Transitioning to a zero-emission fleet represents one of the largest opportunities for meaningful climate action, while also reducing the associated air and noise pollution in our community.
Saanich has a history of success with electric fleet vehicles:
- As of 2020, 100% of our light duty pool fleet vehicles are electric, providing significant cost and operational savings, in addition to reduced air pollution and noise in our community.
Building upon this success and to help achieve our GHG reduction targets, the District developed a Zero Emission Fleet Strategy. Direction for this strategy was provided as follows:
2023-2027 Saanich Council Strategic Plan
- Plan Initiative 1.3.6: Develop, fund and implement a Zero Emission Fleet Strategy that provides the roadmap to transition Saanich fleets to 100% renewable energy and net-zero emissions by or before 2040.
- Strategy L3: Transition to an efficient, renewably powered fleet
- Action L3.1: Develop a fleet strategy to transform Saanich’s fleet to 100% renewable energy.
Electrification of fleet vehicles and buildings utilizing BC’s clean and renewable electricity is prioritized in the Saanich Climate Plan as it will significantly reduce GHG emissions while also offering many other benefits to our community.
Strategy Development
The development of the Zero Emission Fleet Strategy was led by an external consultant team working closely with an internal Saanich Working Group comprised of key stakeholders from Municipal Operations, Parks, Police, and Fire. A multi-disciplinary approach was used, leveraging industry experience managing similar fleets, best practices, combined with detailed fleet analysis.
The Zero Emission Fleet Strategy draws upon this extensive experience and was developed in a 4-stage process as shown below:
The Strategy aims to achieve the 2040 GHG emissions target through a balanced cost optimized approach to battery electric vehicle (EV) fleet expansion, demonstrating the District’s commitment to climate action, while minimizing operational and financial risk and maximizing future flexibility.
Implementation of the Zero Emission Fleet Strategy enables the District to make tangible and impactful progress towards our climate goals and targets, helping to deliver on the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan.
Supporting Documents
