Four major industry associations, representing more than 2,300 businesses, have joined forces to call for a more practical, evidence-led approach to London's Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) emissions policy.
The CEA (Construction Equipment Association) and CPA (Construction Plant-hire Association), alongside AMPS (Association of Manufacturers and suppliers of Power generating Systems) and EIA (Environmental Industries Association), have submitted a joint position paper to the Greater London Authority (GLA), setting out detailed recommendations for the future of London's NRMM Low Emission Zone.
The submission follows months of collaboration and consultation, including extensive technical input from the CEA's General Technical Committee (GTC). It acknowledges the progress made in improving air quality through the introduction of cleaner construction equipment but warns that the next phase of the policy must balance environmental ambition with technical feasibility, commercial realities and the ability of businesses to invest.
A central concern is the planned transition to Stage V emissions requirements in 2030 and London's longer-term ambition for zero-tailpipe emissions by 2040.
The industry bodies argue that the 2030 policy should focus on areas where greater environmental improvements can be achieved, including smaller machinery below 37kW and extending emissions requirements to other sectors using NRMM.
The paper also recommends exemptions for Stage IV machines already fitted with diesel particulate filters, recognising that replacing certain existing machines could impose significant costs without delivering corresponding reductions in emissions.
Looking further ahead, the organisations are calling on the GLA to reconsider the 2040 zero-tailpipe ambition in favour of a more flexible, technology-neutral approach. The paper highlights the challenges associated with alternative power technologies, including infrastructure provision, equipment availability, operating requirements, investment costs and residual values.
The organisations stress that future emissions policy must recognise the considerable investment already made by manufacturers, equipment suppliers and plant hire companies in cleaner machinery, while providing sufficient certainty for businesses to plan future fleet investment.
Alongside the longer-term policy recommendations, the paper calls for improvements to the existing NRMM Low Emission Zone, including more effective enforcement, clearer exemption criteria, reduced administrative requirements and the reinstatement of structured cross-industry meetings with the GLA.
A significant recommendation is the mandatory adoption of CESAR Emissions Compliance Verification (ECV) labelling, part of the CEA-owned CESAR Scheme. The paper argues that using this established machine identification and emissions verification system could make compliance checks more efficient, improve the reliability of machine information and reduce the administrative burden associated with the current registration process.
Further recommendations include improvements to the management of temporary site power and the use of practical demonstration projects to assess emerging technologies in real working conditions.
The joint submission calls for renewed engagement between the GLA and industry stakeholders, with the four organisations emphasising the importance of developing a coordinated package of measures that delivers meaningful environmental improvements while supporting continued investment and innovation across the construction equipment supply chain.
The CEA, CPA, AMPS and EIA have confirmed their willingness to work with the GLA to take the recommendations forward.
Click here to read the full report (PDF).
