Monday 23 August 2021

Student transportation firm Zum goes carbon-neutral

Modern student transportation company Zum has announced it is now offsetting 100% of the emissions for its entire fleet.

Its Zum Net Zero initiative takes aim at the 8.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to more than one million homes' annual energy use – that diesel school buses emit annually.

As part of the investment, the company is working with 3Degrees, a firm that helps organisations achieve renewable energy and decarbonisation goals, to support verified emission reduction projects.

They include the Meridian SF6 Reduction Project, which in the vehicle parts manufacturing process, replaces a powerful greenhouse gas that has a global warming impact 22,800 times greater than CO2.

Zum also recently announced a partnership with AutoGrid to deploy 10,000 electric school buses, which contribute to reducing its carbon footprint.

Ritu Narayan, CEO and founder of Zum said: “We plan for Zum's entire fleet to be 100% EV by 2025 but we can't wait for technology to catch up to our ambitions to drive sustainable change.

“Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the United States and we have an opportunity to make an immediate positive impact on society and provide students with carbon-neutral rides. We invite other transportation companies to join us so we can increase this impact industry-wide as quickly as possible.”

Zum recently partnered with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to transition to a 100% electric and zero emission school bus fleet by 2025.

Dr Kyla Johnson-Trammell, OUSD Superintendent said: "At OUSD, our job as educators is to prepare students to succeed in their future. By setting this groundbreaking goal for electrification, we are also demonstrating that we are committed to a more sustainable future for our kids.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with the team at Zum to make OUSD one of the first districts in the nation with all-electric school buses by 2025.”