Fleet management must evolve to achieve true sustainability, according to an expert roundtable held earlier this month.

L-R: Claire Miller, independent Advisor, Mobility & energy; Edmund King of the AA, Chris Horbowyj from Targa Viasat UK. Photography courtesy of Alastair Hilton

Convened by i247 Group and hosted by Enso Tyres at London’s County Hall Sustainability Centre, the event saw an 11-member panel debate how fleets can go beyond electrification to achieve deeper decarbonisation.

The roundtable identified critical areas for more sustainable fleet management including fleet right-sizing, the importance of driver education, embracing technology, and collaborating with supply chain partners to revisit existing fleet management approaches.

The independently chaired discussion featured leading industry expert panellists, including Edmund King, AA president, Catherine Bowen, head of decarbonisation and future mobility, BVRLA, Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals, and Philip Wilbraham, managing director Pendragon Vehicle Management, amongst other notable panellists.

Fleet rightsizing

Quick wins to reduce environmental impact revealed at the event included optimising the number of fleet vehicles and maximising utilisation.

The panel highlighted that both fleet operators and drivers need to understand the impact of travel on the environment and business costs.

The AA’s Edmund King suggested a more strategic approach is needed.

“Why have we still got the same number of journeys now as we did before Covid when more people are working from home? I think there is a broader, higher-level transportation and logistics question we need to address. Not enough is being done about the purpose of the journey and I think for individual consumers as well as fleets, that is a big question.”

Maximising technology – telematics and AI

The use of new technology was identified as key to supporting more efficient fleet operations.

Telematics can provide valuable insights into fleet utilisation and vehicle health, enabling businesses to measure performance and identify areas for improvement according to James Hopkins, strategy director, Enso Tyres.

“Even if you decarbonise a vehicle at the tailpipe, there are still all these things you can do to reduce the environmental impact. For example, Enso is focused on helping EV fleets address the issue of particulate matter pollution from tyres. And those core principles hold true, whether it’s an internal combustion engine or EV fleet. Good processes and practices are key, which takes us to telematics data, education and driving behaviour.”

Les Kerjenski, technical director at i247 Group, also believes that embracing AI is core to sustainable fleet practices.

“I believe there’s a massive part for AI and telematics technology to play in predicting when a vehicle might need a repair and being more proactive in that advice. Understanding that a vehicle is not performing optimally or has a certain component that will potentially fail in the near term is critical fleet information. Using that data will mean more efficient vehicles on the road which also drives commercial benefits through increased fleet uptime.”

Driver education and training

A lack of driver understanding and the impact of driving behaviours was highlighted as an issue for fleets. As an example, almost a decade ago, AA telematics identified that its patrol vans were regularly left idling – raising awareness of that behaviour and driving styles saved the business over £1m in fuel in the following year and reduced its carbon emissions.

Whilst many fleets and drivers think going electric ticks the sustainability box, Catherine Bowen, head of decarbonisation and future mobility for the BVRLA, commented on the importance of going further.

“Part of the BVRLA’s role is to educate our members and their fleet partners. The Government is focusing on energy security and considering vehicle-to-grid (V2G) solutions, where fleets will again play a critical role. We have to ensure that works for fleets and drivers alike. Education is so important. We’ve seen a lot of gamification in the energy space to promote smarter use of energy, but there is more we can do to bring fleet drivers on the decarbonisation journey. How can we make it fun and creative?”

Cross-sector collaboration

A more holistic approach across the entire supply chain was identified as crucial – looking at the whole operation, from glass through to tyre choice and maintenance.

The view from Philip Wilbraham, managing director of Pendragon Vehicle Management, was that collaboration will be vital to a greener future for the sector.

“If we’re not creative enough as an industry, we risk missing a huge opportunity. Let’s be bold and challenge ourselves to explore new ideas. Some may not work, but the ones that do can drive real impact. That’s why sharing success stories across the industry is so valuable – when we get it right, we not only advance sustainability but also create meaningful progress.”

David Legg, director at i247 Group, explains why the roundtable output is so important:

‘i247 Group is delighted that the roundtable was such a success. Bringing the breadth of the fleet industry together to debate sustainability is so important right now as we’re going through a historic period for our sector. My thanks to the panellists for sharing much needed insight for fleets as we move towards lessening their future environmental impact.’

A report of the key findings from the roundtable is being created by i247 Group and will be made available on the i247 Group website to support businesses with practical advice on creating sustainable fleet strategies. The business is also considering holding future events.

Panel participants

Edmund King, president of the AA

James Hopkins, strategy director, Enso Tyres

Paul Hollick, chair, Association of Fleet Professionals

Chris Horbowyj, commercial director, Targa Viasat UK

Claire Miller, independent advisor, Mobility & energy

Samantha Harrison, head of commercial B2B, Autoglass

Philip Wilbraham, managing director, Pendragon Vehicle Management

Patrick Cresswell, managing director, ClearWatt

Emma Courtney, head of insurance, Motability Operations

Catherine Bowen, head of decarbonisation and future mobility, BVRLA

Les Kerjenski, technical director, i247 Group