From grass to greatness

Christchurch City Council’s electric fleet revolution.

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Local councils transitioning to an electric fleet to help achieve their net zero targets require an often-elusive alignment between fleet, maintenance and infrastructure teams. To achieve this alignment, it usually requires a champion within the organisation to drive change.

Christchurch City Council is an example of where this alignment is happening with great success. From trial to large-scale adoption of electric vehicles across much of its fleet, the transition has shown how sustainable practices and operational efficiency can coexist.

The council is proving you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Transitioning

The idea for Christchurch City Council’s transition to an electric fleet was sparked when its parks-maintenance contract was up for renewal. The parks-maintenance team proposed bringing maintenance in-house and investing in fit-for-purpose vehicles and machinery which would give them greater control over their fleet and operations. Council accepted the suggestion and directed as much of the fleet as possible be electric.

Previous trials of electric mowers to ‘test and learn’ had given the council the insights and confidence needed to transition.

The council purchased twenty-nine 60-inch and 74-inch electric mowers for regular parks maintenance, supplementing them with larger diesel models for activities with large-scale mowing requirements where electric alternatives were not yet available. However, with the arrival of the EcoMow R9c – a 96-inch electric commercial mower designed for large-scale applications – the council had the option to invest in electric mowers once the diesel models reached their end of life.

As well as the electric mowers, the council began converting its passenger vehicles to electric, and it plans to phase out diesel utes over the next five years. Electric ride-share services for short trips have also been adopted where feasible.