A LEADING oil company has invested £4million in a bid to persuade customers to ditch diesel and gas oil and opt for an environmentally-friendly alternative.

Crown Oil is throwing its weight behind biofuels as a synthetic alternative to fossil fuels.

Major road users like Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo have approved the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for parts of their range.

And the Heywood firm is urging others to adopt the carbon-neutral product, which they say can be used without engine modifications, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent, compared to regular diesel.

Matthew Greensmith, managing director, said: “We are always looking to reduce our footprint in every way we can and we’re aware that the current supply of biofuels cannot sustainably match that of fossil fuels in a large economy such as the UK.

“We believe renewable sources are part of the solution to the current climate crisis, and we want to encourage businesses to switch to this versatile fuel.

“For that reason, we have invested in an industrial-sized supply of HVO fuel, as we expect demand for greener fuels to increase as businesses become more environmentally-conscious and we want to be able to cater to that demand.”

The outfit is also set to lobby Whitehall to give more concessions to producers of TVO and similar fuels.

Mr Greensmith added: “We call on the government to look at sufficient incentives for businesses and domestic customers to use biofuels, as aside from environmental concerns, there is little reason to choose renewable fuels. What’s more, if business want their fuel supply to be environmentally friendly, a premium on biofuel price is unavoidable.”

He says they are the only UK supplier that can meet bulk HVO needs.