Low Emission Strategies

The LES Toolkit

The LES Partnership was awarded funding through the Defra Air Quality Grant and separate s106 funds from the London Borough of Greenwich to develop a ‘Low Emission Toolkit’. The purpose of the tool is to assess the costs and benefits of low emission strategies.

There are three components:

• Technology Guidance: Compares low emission vehicle technologies - on an individual vehicle basis.
• Fleet Tool: Calculates the emissions from an existing transport fleet and looks at the costs and benefits of different replacement strategies with low emission vehicles.
• The Development Tool: Allows a planner, environment officer, or developer to input basic data about a new development and be given an estimate of the baseline transport emissions associated with it. The user can then select from a range of planning measures and model the potential emission reductions that could be achieved.

This page will give regular updates on the development and launch of the tool.

The LESP has developed four, short instructional videos explaining how to use the Low Emission Toolkit.
The videos can be viewed here

November 2012

Technical Review of the Low Emission Toolkit

A streamlined and efficient approach to estimating emission reductions associated with fleets and planning developments

A technical review the Low Emission Toolkit (LET) has recently completed. It gave particular emphasis to the underlying data tables and the overall method. Selected extracts of the review team’s report are presented below, however it is important to consider these within the context of the full report and its recommendations (which will be published early in the new year).

‘Air quality issues can be addressed in a number of different ways. In recent years there has been an increased focus on using low emission strategies to target emissions from the road transport sector. There are several advantages of using this approach in that an emission based approach is easier to quantify (compared to air quality concentration benefits) and it helps to integrate air quality issues and climate change issues, so that they are considered together.’

‘The Low Emission Toolkit provides a streamlined and efficient approach to estimating emission reductions associated with fleets and planning developments and therefore is a useful tool in this regard.’

‘A review of the LET data tables finds them based on well referenced data sets, derived from a comprehensive literature review. A number of improvements are recommended, which once implemented, will ensure that the LET data tables can be considered fit for purpose.’

‘Application 1 easily allows a comparison to be undertaken between different options and is a useful part of the Low Emission Toolkit’

‘Application 2 is designed to allow fleet managers to develop strategies to reduce emissions from the fleet they are responsible for and it achieves its desired aim. A few minor weaknesses have been identified, which are all related to the usability of App2 […]They are mostly of low importance and should all be straightforward and quick to deal with.’

‘Application 3 is designed to help develop low emission strategies for transport emissions associated with new developments and it goes a long way towards achieving this aim […]There are a number of usability barriers that make it difficult to deliver the required information in a straightforward way. Unless addressed, these barriers have the potential to limit the widespread adoption and use of App3.’

Download the Low Emission Toolkit Method Summary Report

The Full Technical Review report will be published early in the new year

August 2012

LES Toolkit (version 1.1) now available to download

Following on from the launch of the Toolkit in April 2012, we have now made it easier to access. Simply complete the registration form here and agree to the Terms and Conditions. Following approval from the Partnership, you will then be able to access and download the Toolkit.

Please contact us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org if you have any further questions about accessing or using the Toolkit.

April 2012

LAUNCH: Low Emission Toolkit (Version 1.1)

A new version of the Low Emission Toolkit (LET1.1) was launched in January 2012. The LET enables users to assess the costs and benefits associated with the implementation of low emission transport measures. The tool is very versatile, enabling users to carry out three broad types of assessment:

• Technology guidance: enables users to compare the impact of different low emission vehicle technologies on emissions;
• Fleet tool: enables users to calculate the emissions from an existing transport fleet and models the costs and benefits associated with different replacement strategies; and
• Development tool: enables the user to input basic data about a new development and be given an estimate of the baseline transport emissions associated with it. The user can then select from a range of measures and model the potential emission reductions that could be achieved.

The LET now has over 70 registered users. It comes with a comprehensive user guide, and version 1.1 can now provide printable outputs for discussion and comparison.

The Partnership is running a user pilot of LET1.1 over the course of 2012, with a view to consolidating feedback and demonstrating how the tool and methods can be used in practice. We are also running two additional workstreams:

• Aether and Air Quality Consultants have been commissioned to complete an expert review of the data and methodologies contained within the toolkit; and
• The Partnership is also working directly with local authorities to develop real-world case studies using the LET. If you are interested in being involved, please contact us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org

LET1.1 is available free of charge, as part of the user pilot. Please contact info@lowemissionstrategies.org for details on how to register as a user, or to upgrade your existing version to LET1.1.

October 2011

Developing the Low Emission Toolkit

The Partnership is continuing to test and develop its
‘Low Emission Toolkit’, which supports the design, implementation and monitoring of measures to reduce transport emissions.

We have now signed up over 60 registered users, of which 50 are local authorities. Feedback will inform the next phase of development. If you would like to be involved and find out more about how the tool works, download a user agreement.

We held a tools workshop in London on 13th July. In the morning, we had presentations and discussion on national emissions policy, impact assessment and the various tools currently available. In the afternoon, there was a hands-on workshop for registered users to run through examples with the Low Emission Toolkit. For more information and to download the presentations, please see below.

Development of the toolkit will continue over the next year. We are aiming to release a revised version by the end of 2011, with further technical development and user support to continue into 2012. Contact us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org if you would like to find out more.

August 2011

The Low Emission Toolkit – How to get involved...

Local Authorities – LET User Group

We have signed up almost 50 local authority officers to test the beta-version of the tool, explore its capabilities and to identify potential improvements. If you are a local authority practitioner, and would like to participate in the user testing, please complete the user agreement and email it to us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org. We can then provide you with a link to download a copy of the tool and user guide.

Non-Local Authority Stakeholders - Review and Feedback

We are also inviting interested parties from non-council organisations to review the beta-version of the tool and provide us with feedback. Please contact us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org if you would like to be involved in this way.

July 2011

Toolkit demo for Defra Regional Air Quality Coordinators Group

On 27th July 2011, Katherine Stanger gave a demonstration of the toolkit to Defra’s Regional Air Quality Coordinators, at their bi-annual meeting in London.

Download the presentation slides.

Low Emission Workshop – Emissions Impact Assessment and the Low Emission Toolkit

On 13th July 2011, we held a workshop in London, attended by 45 people from local, regional and central government and the private sector. The morning session included presentations and discussion on national emissions policy, impact assessment and tools. The afternoon was a hands-on workshop using the LES Partnership’s Low Emission Toolkit.

The presentations can be downloaded from the following links:

June 2011

The LES Partnership is arranging a Low Emission Tools Workshop in Central London on 13th of July.
The day will be split up into two parts:

• Morning (10.30am - 1.00pm): Emission Reduction & Impact Assessment:
  Presentations and discussion of Methods, Applications and Case Studies based on the Partnerships Low Emission Toolkit and other emission based tools and assessment. [Open to everyone, max capacity is 50 people]
• Afternoon (1.30pm - 4.30pm): LET User Group Meeting:
  Hands on workshop, using the Low Emission Toolkit. Two parallel sessions: (i) intro user: intro to basic functions and working through examples, (ii) Intermediate/Advanced User: sharing experiences/case studies, raising specific questions, and contributing to the tool’s ongoing development. [Max capacity is 30 people. This session is for registered users of the LET only. If you are a local authority officer, and would like to register, please complete and return the user agreement.

The workshop will be free to attend, but places are limited. Email us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org
for more information, or to reserve a place.

Click here to download the flyer.

May 2011

Progress

The Low Emission Toolkit (LET) has a range of functionality designed to support the design, implementation and monitoring of interventions for reducing transport emissions. The first intensive period of development is now complete with LET (v1.0) in hand. Initial testing indicates that it meets its design specification well. None the less it is a relatively unknown quantity and has known limitations to usability, functionality and in the underlying datasets. The project has now entered a ‘beta-testing’ period to explore and understand its capabilities and to identify potential improvements. Limited funding has been secured to support this work through 2011 and an outline plan of work has been agreed. Key activities will be (i) engaging with users, testing the tool and seeking feedback, (ii) filling data gaps, and (iii) enhancing functionality and useability. The overall aim is to complete a full release of the tool to all councils later this year. User engagement and detailed technical planning is now underway. Further budget decisions are likely to be agreed at the forthcoming LES Partnership Board meeting in mid May.

LET User Group

An immediate priority is to work with local authority practitioners to test the tool and to capture their experiences, learnings and suggestions. As such, if you are a local authority practitioner, and would like to begin user testing, please complete a user registration form and return it to us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org We can then provide you with a link to download a copy of the tool and associated user guide. Please do get in touch if you have any questions about the tool or the process.

Non-LA Stakeholders

We are currently reviewing how best to engage with interested parties from non-council organisations. This will take a little more time, so in the meantime we are building up a list of interested people. Please email us at info@lowemissionstrategies.org if you would like to be added to this list.

March 2011

In 2010, the LES Partnership commissioned a consortium led by Transport and Travel Research Ltd. (TTR), with CERC and RPS Planning to develop the Low Emission Toolkit. The outcome from this work has been a ‘beta version’ of the toolkit, with accompanying user guides.

The first phase of development is coming to an end. The Partnership has been awarded additional funding by Defra to test and develop the tool further. The priorities will include filling some of the known data gaps and making some enhancements to the usability. The work plan will also include controlled user trials and testing, to get feedback on how it feels to use. The Partnership is aiming at a wider release later in 2011. Once ready it will be freely available to Local Authorities.

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