By Selwyn Cooper, head of business sales, Volvo Car UK.

There is ever increasing pressure from the government to drive down emissions, reduce carbon footprints, and to become ‘greener’. This has resulted in many companies re-assessing the make-up of their fleet in line with these eco-drives.

The enjoyment of being at the wheel, the gadget-laden specification, or the ‘exciting’ performance of the vehicle are for many employees, compelling factors, as they help to alleviate the strain of having to travel thousands of miles for work every year. However, when looking at the offerings available to today’s corporate community, these attributes do not have to be disregarded in favour of low emissions when choosing which cars should be on a staff leasing or contract scheme.

The notable advances made in the ongoing development of cleaner new generation petrol and diesel powertrain technology often means that a significant amount of horsepower brings extremely reduced CO2 coupled with the added benefits of extended durability and ease of servicing. These engines are certainly here to stay for the long term, and are now combined with electric motors – otherwise known as ‘plug-in hybrids’, to create an even more desirable eco-package. And there is certainly no loss of perks.

Drivers have no range anxiety either – once the battery is depleted, the petrol engine simply takes over, and recharging takes just minutes (as opposed to hours for many zero-emission electric cars). This also has the advantage that households can use a single vehicle for all journeys rather than relying on one which is electric for commuting, and a second for leisure and vacations.

Furthermore, when choosing a company vehicle, the choice of engine is frequently (and helpfully) separate to that of the trim level, thereby avoiding the possibly challenging sacrifice of a well-equipped model, for an engine that is deemed friendlier to the environment. Drivers can today have both. In addition to the standard model specifications, many manufacturers offer Business Edition variants, designed specifically for corporate customers. These are loaded with the all-important “company car essentials" such as satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and cruise control, providing fleet managers and staff with an optimised whole life cost / benefit package.

When you delve deep into the specification and statistics of vehicles now on the market, there are plenty of options available that challenge the common school of thought that power equals gas guzzlers, a high rate of taxation, or indeed, stretched budgets. Company car drivers can be perfectly happy and responsible to Planet Earth at the same time, so any decisions when it comes to populating the corporate fleet should be carefully considered.