Features
29 Sep 17

10 ways to cut CO2 and save costs

Reducing a fleet’s carbon footprint starts a virtuous circle. It is one of the simplest business cases to build; a greener fleet is both safer and cheaper to run.

With carbon dioxide a direct consequence of burning fossil fuels, cutting the volume of petrol and diesel consumed means cheaper fuel bills. But the savings don’t stop there. The majority of European Union countries now have CO2 based automotive taxes, so the lower a vehicle’s emissions, the smaller its tax bill to both company and driver.

Better route planning reduces unnecessary journeys, thereby cutting fuel demand and improving employee productivity. Better driving styles, which avoid harsh acceleration and excessive speed, not only improve fuel economy, but also bring down vehicle service and maintenance demand, and reduce risk, lowering insurance premiums and the costs associated with accidents.

The selection of more fuel efficient vehicles often involves downsizing to vehicles that are cheaper to lease and that have lower total costs of ownership.

And finally, the world’s scientific community is united in its belief that reducing CO2 emissions is vital to slow down climate change and protect the environment. Going green is not just the right thing to do… it could be good for business, too, as customers start to demand their suppliers adopt an environmentally-friendly approach. This is already evident in local and central government contracts.

Where to start?

  1. Understand your total current fuel usage – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Fuel card data is the most accurate source of this information, but a comprehensive approach will also include the fuel used in pool cars and by employees using their own cars for business trips. Calculate your fleet’s fuel consumption from the total miles driven and total fuel used – this is much more robust and reliable than averaging individual vehicles’ consumption.
     
  2. Analyse the fuel consumption of individual vehicles. This will highlight those in need of repair and also reveal which models perform well or poorly compared to their competitors, leading to vehicles being added or removed from choice lists.
     
  3. Measure the fuel economy of individual drivers to identify those delivering below average fuel economy. Eco-driving instruction to drive more sensitively, allied with onboard performance-monitoring systems such as telematics, have delivered fuel savings of 10–15%. They are also effective at flagging up incidents of excessive engine idling and false or inflated mileage claims.
     
  4. Investigate business journeys – the greenest mile is the mile not driven, so challenge whether employees have to make a trip, and whether a car or van is the best means of travel – public transport may offer a more environmentally-friendly alternative. Remove any incentives, such as lucrative reimbursement rates, for employees to drive their company or private cars.
     
  5. Introduce smart route planning to avoid drivers duplicating the same journey. Better planning can lead to more efficient sales and service territories for field based staff, and identify congested roads that increase fuel use.
     
  6. Examine the real world fuel economy achieved by different vehicles on your fleet. Fuel use specialist, The Miles Consultancy, says that as cars have become increasingly efficient on paper, so their on-road performance has become less predictable - the average reality gap between advertised and actual consumption now approaches 30%.  
     
  7. Make drivers responsible for the optimum performance of their vehicles by regularly checking tyre pressures, removing roof-racks and boxes that cause drag and taking out any heavy loads when not required for work.
     
  8. Include fuel economy in your fleet choice list. Wouter Lips, a consultant with LeasePlan Netherlands, suggests including fuel costs within lease allowances, introducing a CO2 cap, or limiting drivers to cars with A or B energy labels (because these labels will change over time ensuring your employees are always presented with a choice of the greenest cars on the market).
     
  9. Review low carbon vehicles for your fleet. Electric vehicles produce zero CO2 from their tailpipe; hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles convert hydrogen into electricity and produce only heat and water; and even natural gas emits approximately 6%-11% lower levels of GHGs than petrol throughout the fuel life cycle, according to the Argonne National Laboratory in the US.
     
  10. Set a goal to reduce your CO2 emissions. Having a target helps discipline and compliance with all policies designed to shrink a corporate carbon footprint.
Authored by: Jonathan Manning