KB Event calls for a fuel duty reduction on HVO

Despite a reported growing demand for more environmentally friendly fuel sources, event transport and logistics specialists like KB Event are not seeing an abundance of key decision makers from the live entertainment industry opting for hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) over fossil fuels when it comes to specifying transport for a tour for a multitude of reasons.

At the time of writing, the UK government classifies HVO fuel as ‘heavy oil’ and as such, it is treated the same as diesel and is therefore fuel duty is charged at the same rate as fossil diesel fuel which is 52.95 pence per litre, so there’s no incentive for production crews and those advancing tours to opt for HVO, other than from an environmentally-conscious standpoint, especially when the cost of a transporting goods has risen significantly. “Everything is so much more expensive,” KB Event Managing Director, Richard Burnett informed TPi, following the Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI 15).

According to Burnett, this increased price of HVO dissuades most production and tour managers. “The price difference between fossil fuel and HVO can make or break the budget of a tour using a substantial number of trucks. There is a growing commitment from clients and sometimes they’re prepared to commit to the cost because they believe we need to start doing something proactive as an industry,” Burnett said, citing Tour Manager, Jamal Chalabi who opted for a production entirely fuelled by HVO for Yungblud’s latest tour.

“In the journey to get to net zero, both UK and European governments are not moving fast enough,” Burnett warned, explaining that the lack of infrastructure to provide productions with the ability to charge electric vehicles is not readily available. Until the investment in infrastructure and technology is made, it’s going to take longer than any government thinks.”