NEW FBHVC CARBON BALANCING SCHEME
The FBHVC has announced a new carbon balancing scheme for historic vehicles. Delivered in partnership with Tree-V, the scheme launched on 15th December to offer individuals, clubs and those organising events within the historic vehicle community a quick and convenient way to carbon balance their emissions thanks to the planting of new woodland here in the UK. Importantly, that woodland will be planted using native species to best contribute to the local ecosystem. Planting in this way also delivers a host of additional benefits, including increased biodiversity, creation of recreational spaces and flood mitigation to name a few.
The carbon footprint of the average historic vehicle is already very low. FBHVC research data shows that, on average, the historic vehicle community accounts for less than 0.25% of the total miles travelled on UK roads by cars, motorcycles, buses, coaches, lorries, light commercials, military, agricultural and steam vehicles. Furthermore, the manufacturing footprint of the vehicle has been spread over so many years that it has more than ‘paid its dues’ in terms of the emissions and energy required to produce it.
However, as the responses to the 2020/2021 National Historic Vehicle Survey showed, there is an appetite within the historic vehicle community to work towards carbon neutrality. Over a third of historic vehicle owners said that they would support contributing to some kind of carbon balancing scheme in order to continue to use their historic vehicles, and the Federation have responded to that request.
To carbon balance historic vehicle mileage, owners can simply head to
select their vehicle type and select how many miles they do a year – a historic car can be balanced for as little as £20 per year. Once the transaction is complete, the historic vehicle owner will receive a pack through the post from Tree-V containing information on how the money is being used, and also a sticker for the vehicle to show that its mileage for that year has been carbon balanced. Each year, new coloured and date-stamped stickers will be released to keep carbon offsetting up to date.