Geographic information systems software firm Esri UK has driven down its fleet emissions with a new sal sac scheme and EV-focused company car allowances.

Employees have opted for a wide variety of EVs on the green sal sac scheme, including the Volkswagen ID.3, Audi Q4 e-tron and Tesla Model 3

Implemented with the help of Lex Autolease in June 2021, the new ultra-low emission vehicle sal sac scheme has seen rapid take-up among Esri UK’s 400 employees, surpassing expectations. Employees have opted for a wide variety of electric vehicles, including the Volkswagen ID.3, Audi Q4 e-tron and Tesla Model 3.

In addition, the firm’s company car scheme has also been enhanced, with allowances increased by 20%, on average, to encourage take-up of electric vehicles.

As a result, the business has already seen a 68% reduction in the fleet’s overall CO2 emissions, with electrified vehicles now accounting for more than 76% of the make-up of Esri UK’s fleet.

To help support the new EVs, the business has also installed 10 on-site charge points at its head office in Aylesbury.

Gary Lockwood, financial controller at Esri UK, said: “Reducing our overall emissions by promoting more eco-friendly vehicles across our employee base is absolutely central to our sustainability targets. We deliver world-class environmental software for globally-recognised public sector bodies and private companies, so it’s only right that we remain on the front foot when it comes to our own sustainability credentials.

“We knew that launching a ULEV salary sacrifice scheme would need to be cleverly communicated to our employees to be effective, plus a new IT infrastructure to support it. The team at Lex Autolease have helped guide us through every step of the way, hosting a launch event for our 400-strong workforce to explain the benefits and details of the scheme. This was a huge factor in the initial appetite for the scheme, which we hope will only increase in the coming months.”

The new scheme forms part of Lex Autolease’s work with Esri UK since 2016 to understand the business’s sustainability goals and develop electrification solutions to help it achieve its plans.

James Garrod, internal account manager at Lex Autolease, said: “The team at ESRI is aligned within our essential proposition to ensure their fleet is efficient, cost effective and fully optimised.

“The take-up of fully electric vehicles since the salary sacrifice scheme launched in June has been really encouraging, but our role isn’t limited to supplying more eco-friendly vehicles. Esri is also using our Sustainability Dashboard to access tailored metrics, recommendations and a future sustainability trajectory. Armed with these insights, together we can continually tweak the overall sustainability strategy to ensure it moves in the right direction.”