Local authority's travel plan reduces emissions, fuel use and commuters – and encourages staff to buy cleaner vehicles

Home delivery company Hermes reaps rewards of ensuring drivers meet high standards

Fleet manager Adrian Harris believes the right car as part of the employment package is great value to staff and company

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SCAS) taking delivery of a new fleet and workshop management system from leading fleet software supplier Jaama.

Detailed analysis was key to Helen Sleigh's understanding of how she could cut fleet costs

The London Borough of Hackney has recognised the buying power that a co-ordinated procurement programme can achieve and is now looking to take it to the next level having saved hundreds of thousands of pounds and benn the first local authority to be made business champion.

Road traffic accidents were once part of his daily routine, but now the former head of strategic road policing for North Yorkshire Police is helping CE Electric keep its drivers safe from harm.

Roadsafe aims to raise awareness and champion work-related road safety - see its Driving for Better Business case studies

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s commitment to reducing its impact on climate change has resulted in a dramatic fall in mileage and vehicle emissions.

Technology, safety and the environment are an increasing part of David Lang's job. All relate to driving down costs.

Hannaford, a project management and construction company based in Hertfordshire, recently appointed a full time fleet manager, Leigh Stiff, after Hannaford accountant Matt Vier struggled to cope with the growing demands from legislation and fleet responsibilities.

Network Rail have saved £4 million in fleet costs since they launched a new fleet programme three years ago, managing 8,500 vehicles with a fleet budget of £65 million a year.

Cordek gives its drivers free private fuel – just four have opted out - and only checks costs once a month when the accounts are done. The policy is based around recruitment and employee welfare.

Blaenau Gwent Borough Council operates a fleet of more than 200 vehicles. The Council has recently employed a new Transport Manager and when this member of staff took over this role, he suspected that driver training was not as effective as it should be.

Along with the road safety and financial improvements, the programme is also expected to help reduce British Gas reduce its carbon footprint through better vehicle utilisation and more fuel-efficient driving.

Every fleet operator should have at their fingertips comprehensive data highlighting mileage and fuel use across all vehicles driven on business, particularly grey fleet (private cars used for business purposes).

Amey’s 2009 business plan for reducing the carbon footprint of its internal and external vehicle and plant fleet is influencing people in high places.

The initial focus has been on changing the company car list and providing staff with information to encourage low-emission vehicle choice, checking employee driving licences and encouraging staff to use the public shuttle bus service.

Two decisions taken by BCA fleet manager Marie Jarrold within the past seven months could end up saving the company more than £700,000.

Many fleets are considering solus or dual-branded deals with manufacturers, either for lease or outright purchase, as an opportunity to negotiate better deals on bulk purchases.

North Lincolnshire & Goole and Tees, Esk & Wear are two NHS Trusts that have tackled the issue of grey fleet. Read the case study to find out more about how they have achieved better management of grey fleet.

United Utilities Operational Services’ - the UK’s largest utility company - has reduced its accident frequency by a third.

While many of the environmental plaudits go to the larger companies, like Sainsbury’s with its huge electric vehicle trials, the real lead is often taken by the smaller, more flexible private organisations.

Companies can take a range of measures to reduce their fleet carbon emissions. The best (i.e. greenest) one is to reduce mileage travelled. ‘The greenest mile is the one not driven’ the well worn phrase goes.

As a stock exchange listed company, Carillion’s fleet policy has to sit hand in glove with the needs of its shareholders. Two factors drive the strategy: cost and health and safety.

Here are links to five health and safety case studies

Newport City Council operates a fleet of around 400 vehicles. The net cost of the fleet in 2006/2007 was nearly £4.5 million. Until 2004, the Council’s standing orders dictated that when procuring items or services, the supplier offering the lowest price should be selected. This meant that the procurement process focused on cost rather than quality or value for money.

According to many industry experts, the fleet manager is in danger of becoming extinct. The role is rapidly disappearing because many companies are merging it into another department, commonly procurement, HR or finance.

From day one, Hylton Treisman has been cutting costs at Lewis Day Transport. His appointment three years ago coincided with a period of rapid growth at the London-based transportation company – its fleet of vans, cars and motorcycles has almost doubled from 700 to 1,200 units. And all the while, Treisman has been finding new ways to reduce overheads.

When Phil Redman was appointed fleet manager at IBM, the English Premiership was still in its infancy, no-one had heard of the internet and mobile phones were still the preserve of the wealthy and techno-geeks.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council operates a fleet of 124 vehicles. Since 1989, the Council’s Finance, Audit and Risk Management Department has managed the provision of the fleet, including procurement, leasing and maintenance.

The Green Fleet Review resulted in a range of recommendations to radically overhaul and transform the Authority’s grey fleet. Fifty four employees have essential/casual car user status, driving around 51,600 miles a year.

After making fleet policy changes designed to influence both vehicle choice and driver behaviour, leading paper and printer supply merchants, the James McNaughton Group, have reduced fuel expenditure by up to £2,500 per car and made significant carbon savings.

The council first developed a driver’s handbook in the mid 1990s but it was not updated for several years. Some of the content was therefore no longer relevant and important information on new legislation was not included.

Collaboration is a theme that runs across Richard Flint’s fleet policy: collaboration with other police forces, emergency services’ fleets, staff, management, manufacturers and the media.

3M has a fleet of some 800 company cars used by a team of 400 sales people plus managers who receive a car as part of their remuneration package.

With nearly 700 vehicles, South Wales Police operates one of the largest fleets of all public sector organisations in Wales.

Three years ago in 2006, the management of Anglian Water’s fleet was almost entirely outsourced to its contract hire provider. Fleet manager Nigel Allen’s role was overseeing supplier relationships with the help of an assistant.

The challenge was to find ways to bring down the carbon impact of the supply chain, which includes fleet, as part of Sky’s broader focus on corporate and social responsibility.

Caerphilly County Borough Council operates a fleet of nearly 500 vehicles. The council runs 12 refuse collection routes, nine recycling routes and five green waste routes. In 2005, these routes were the subject of a review by the Health and Safety Executive.