Fleet operators and consumers offset more than 5,200 tonnes of carbon in the last 12 months with the help of a carbon-neutral leasing scheme from Sogo.

Karl Howkins, managing director of Sogo

The scheme, which launched a year ago, has seen Sogo team up with the BP Target Neutral programme, which helps fleet customers measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions.

Analysis of the Sogo scheme reveals 2,935 tonnes of carbon dioxide were offset for cars and 2,352 tonnes for vans.

The overall figure is equivalent to the electricity production of 3,250 homes for one year or 8,900 flights from London to New York.

Karl Howkins, managing director of Sogo, said: “We set out to transform how fleets think about green mobility and from the outset, monthly leasing ensured that fleets operated newer vehicles on their fleets with the latest technology and lowest emissions. In addition, our ground-breaking partnership with BP means every mile driven in any vehicle was offset in a globally recognised carbon-neutral scheme.”

Howkins added that the ultimate goal is to have a zero-emission fleet – the company is providing a range of services to help drivers make a move to electric vehicles and it has expanded its fleet of EVs. But it said the switch would take time as the Government and private industry develop the right infrastructure to maintain these vehicles.

“Sogo has developed a comprehensive range of services that makes it easier than ever to move to an electric or zero-emission vehicle, and for those instances where an EV isn’t suitable, we help our customers measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions,” added Howkins.

As part of its work to help drivers make a move to electric vehicles, Sogo has partnered with Rightcharge to help drivers identify and install the right charging unit for their type of usage and budget. The partnership also enables drivers to access government grants and green electricity tariffs, along with smart billing options that enable EV charging to be split from the driver’s household bill to make reimbursement for company car mileage easier.

Drivers can also use an Electric Juice Network card to access one of the UK’s largest networks of public chargers.