Green machines are helping keep the Sussex University campus clean and tidy.
The university has invested in four Peugeot Partner electric vans from Becks, of Brighton. They have a top speed of about 50 mph and a range of up to 50 miles.
Philip Cowling, of the university's estates department, said: "The vans are ideal for the short journeys, many as little as half a mile, made by carpenters, electricians, delivery workers and other staff who handle day-to-day maintenance of the buildings and grounds on the 240-acre campus and elsewhere in the Brighton area."
The fleet has gone electric in a bid to reduce air pollution as part of the university's commitment to green transport.
Mr Cowling said: "Electricity is one of the few alternative fuels that is viable in the UK today and is proven to offer environmental benefits over traditional fuels.
"A major benefit of electric vehicles is they produce no exhaust and no emissions, giving a reduction both in particulates and in gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide."
Noise pollution is also reduced. The motor of an electric vehicle is stationary at rest and changing gear is reduced to a silent push-button operation to select forward or reverse.
Bob Grover, Becks' fleet sales executive, said: "The van is simplicity itself to drive.
"All users are given specific training on day-to-day maintenance tasks, the recharging system and driving techniques to minimise power consumption and make the most of the range of the vehicle."
The vans can be fully recharged overnight or part-charged when stopped for shorter breaks. Electrical energy can also be recovered during braking, when the motor becomes a generator and recharges up to 20 per cent of battery power.
The new fleet will result in major cost savings. It costs about 1p per mile to run a car on electricity, compared with about 10p per mile for a standard petrol or diesel vehicle. Since April 1, electric vans have been exempt from of vehicle excise duty.
The electric vans cost £4,000 more to buy than the equivalent petrol-driven model.
The difference was made-up with a grant from the Powershift programme run by the Energy Saving Trust, set up after the 1992 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to help reduce carbon dioxide.
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