Think investing in battery-powered cars is the only way to be seen as ‘green’ these days? Think again – there are plenty of opportunities to prove your sustainability successes.

While many fleets are hesitant to commit to going fully electric, it doesn’t mean they can’t take other steps to increase their overall efficiency. Whether it’s driver training, better fleet management or more attention to detail when it comes to vehicle maintenance, every little really does help. Environmental awareness is a very real thing– and the potential cost savings associated with some solutions are a welcome addition.

One of the most important factors to realise is realism, when it comes to what can be done when ‘going green’. “While we have seen a growing interest in EV and other alternative fuel vehicles, many of our customers are still unlikely to change their fleet to EV until their next three-year cycle,” says Sean Dalton, head of direct sales and rental at Agility Fleet (left). “The technology, infrastructure and support just isn’t at the level it needs to be to allow full fleet switches currently.”

Aside from switching to EV, Dalton recommends a number of other initiatives for fleet operators to take to improve their vehicle’s environmental and economic impact. Firstly, there’s vehicle consultation. “While EVs may not be the right choice at present, it’s still important to evaluate the ICE options to ensure that the vehicles chosen provide the least environmental impact possible,” he says. “Agility Fleet can assist here, specifically – states Dalton – when comparing options and setting max CO2 limits.”

Then there’s driver training. It’s a measure that has numerous benefits for both drivers and businesses. These advantages include decreased risk, better fuel consumption, less maintenance and overall reduced fleet costs. “We offer driver training courses through a partner company to help individuals learn more efficient driving habits,” says Dalton.

Fleet management tools are also an important consideration, he adds. “Investing in fleet management tools can allow an overview of the entire fleet to monitor environmental performance through indicators such as average CO2, analysis of driver behaviour to improve fuel consumption, and overall optimisation of driver routes.”

Advanced trackers – to monitor driver performance are also worth considering. They can work hand-in-hand with driver training to ensure economical practices are being followed. Finally, maintenance is another key consideration because fully maintained vehicles are more efficient. “We are able to monitor our customer’s fleets to ensure they are serviced as per manufacturer’s guidelines,” says the Agility Fleet man. “We can also alert managers when consumable items such as tyres are having to be replaced more frequently than expected.”

CARE FOR THE CAR

Colin Paterson, head of marketing at Drivetech, believes it is critical that drivers evolve – just as the roads they use continue to do so. “We need to ensure we are providing safe and accurate fleet driver training and support,” he says. “These changes need to reflect what we are seeing, which is an increase in environmentally sustainable forms of transport. While many people see it as a difficult task to ask fleets to go fully electric, it is inevitable. However, there are a vast number of alternative options that can allow drivers to help work towards a greener future.”

Paterson offers the example of fleet vehicle fuel consumption. “While this line of business can’t particularly cut down on fuel easily, there are various tips and tricks that can help drivers use their resources more efficiently,” he maintains. “Taking care of your vehicle is one example. A fleet vehicle that isn’t well maintained will consume fuel at a rapid rate. Poorly maintained tyres can also result in mileage dropping by 0.4% for every PSI decrease in tyre pressure, which considering the scale on which fleet vehicles operate could have a huge impact.”

However, Drivetech is also prepared for fleets who have already adopted EVs. “We have created the ‘EV Co-Driver’ training modules, which use theory to educate drivers on the best EV practices,” explains Paterson. “These modules help drivers get the most out of their vehicle and understand the new technology.

“Electric vehicles are expected to be the future of fleets as the government continues to plan to mandate all new passenger cars as electric by 2030,” adds Paterson. “Therefore, we want to ensure we are providing the best, most contemporary driver safety training we can as we look forward towards a more environmentally friendly future.”

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Dipping a toe in the EV waters is probably an attractive proposition to many fleets. There are still a lot of unknowns about how battery technology can cope with the required levels of uptime – plus there are the very real issues surrounding infrastructure reliability. As a result, many drivers are sceptical about the ability of EVs to step up to the mark. “The most obvious route to learning how EV will work for an organisation’s mobility needs is to try one out,” says Ron Santiago, managing director, Europcar Mobility Group UK. “But a short test-drive, even if it’s for a week or more, doesn’t really deliver the insight businesses need to understand the true impact of zero emission motoring.”

With that in mind, Europcar is tackling the challenge with the continued addition of zero emission makes and models, available for a minimum of three months, with extension rates of one month – and no early exit penalty clauses. “Because every business is different, we’re adding vehicles that span the majority of business motoring use cases to give fleet managers the chance to genuinely put EV motoring to the test,” confirms Santiago.

“The working from home/office hybrid has also required a new way of looking at the mobility needs of business travellers,” he continues. “With a number of our customers facing a surplus of pool vehicles – while, at the same time, experiencing long delays for new vehicle supply – the natural solution is to put pool cars to use for drivers waiting for new vehicles. However, many businesses don’t have the infrastructure to manage this effectively, especially across multiple sites. Our car share platform is perfect for this need. An all-devices App and RFID tech installed in a car pool fleet enables fleet managers to book, share and track their own fleet.”

Santiago maintains that the environmental benefits of maximising utilisation of existing company vehicles – rather than bringing more vehicles onto a fleet – also cannot be ignored. “By  installing the ‘tap and go’ technology into  pool  cars, with management of the fleet  delivered through the car share platform, Europcar is helping businesses maximise use of the vehicles they already have on-site as well as reduce reliance on grey fleet,” he concludes.

THE POTENTIAL FOR BEST PRACTICE

More than 20 million vehicle movements occur in the UK each year, but Engineius has investigated yet how many fleets take their movements into account when considering reducing their emissions and adopting the greenest practice.

It is common for chaser vehicles to be deployed when delivering a vehicle, or a minibus-style drop-off and pick-up to be adopted. Engineius identified that, for every 10 miles of vehicle movement needed, these practices actually meant that 24 miles were driven – more than doubling not only the driving miles, but the emissions too.

Driving the vehicle from A to B eliminates those extra miles. Engineius maintains that, through the use of logistics planning and automatically assigning suppliers onward journeys, unproductive miles can be minimised.

A single vehicle movement historically created several pieces of paper for each transaction, which is not a particularly green process either. The technology provided by Engineius removes the need for unnecessary paperwork and takes the whole process online, reducing administration and processing costs.

ON FLEET >  WJ ROAD MARKINGS

Help for the heavier end of the market

Transport manager Scott Logan has made full use of vehicle tracking data to transform the carbon efficiency of fleet operations at his company, WJ Road Markings. With 420 vehicles working throughout the nights, improving performance on the road while considering the safety and wellbeing of drivers is a key focus for the operator.

WJ collaborated with The Carbon Trust to identify the main source of its emissions – its fleet diesel consumption. The team set out ambitious sustainability goals to be reached through an extensive driver training plan with telematics at its core. In one year of using Quartix vehicle tracking with a dedication to this cause, WJ has achieved a 12% increase in miles per gallon and saved £26,000 in fuel costs. In addition there have been 65% fewer HGV accidents and maintenance costs are down £160,000 across the company.

“We use Quartix to measure driver performance, mpg and carbon emissions alongside accident statistics, maintenance costs and insurance claims,” says Logan. “These KPIs give us a complete picture of the overall progress and show just how much of a difference the project is making.”

Using these KPIs and the historic data available, WJ can forecast its vehicle costs more accurately.

“We’ve upskilled our drivers and improved their wellbeing, reduced costs and improved our carbon efficiency – and got a far better handle on our operations in the process,” confirms Logan.

Quartix is used in all WJ departments, with over 100 system users, ranging from health and safety teams to supervisors. The valuable reports on driver behaviour are intrinsic to WJ’s sustainability agenda, and allow the business to operate a safer, greener and more cost-effective fleet.