Davis Langdon LLP
Key contact: Neil Ashton, Head of Procurement and Supplier Management
Fleet profile: 445 vehicles, 195 cash for company car opt outs, 1,350 casual users
Business: Leading international project and cost consultancy, providing managed solutions for clients investing in infrastructure, property and construction; 1,800 UK staff; past projects include Tate Modern, London, and the Eden Project, Cornwall
Locations: London and offices throughout the UK

Davis Langdon has embarked on a major programme to reduce emissions for its fleet and is working towards achieving international environmental standard ISO14001.

The UK based organisation is a leading international project and cost consultancy, providing managed solutions for clients investing in infrastructure, property and construction – with environmental management a key focus.

With company car drivers and own-car users travelling more than three million miles a year – many in high emission vehicles – the Energy Saving Trust was called in for advice.

As a result Davis Langdon have benchmarked the company car choice list against the existing Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) bands to incentivise drivers to opt for low emission vehicles. It is among the first organisations to take steps to axe use of privately-owned vehicles on business (otherwise know as grey fleet).

Green Fleet Review recommendations implemented so far include:
• Cash incentives to encourage 258 staff company car drivers and 195 cash opt-out employees to drive cars falling in VED bands A–D (165 g/km of CO2 or below)
• Up to 1,350 grey fleet drivers using public transport or a company paid for hire car instead of their own vehicle
• Financial penalties for company partners (187 in total) if they select a company car above VED band D
• Vehicles driven on company business to have at least a four star European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) crash test rating
• Driver licence validation checks
• Video conferencing to reduce vehicle mileage

‘Root and branch’ fleet review
Davis Langdon found out about the Energy Saving Trust’s Green Fleet Review when Neil Ashton, the company’s Head of Procurement and Supplier Management saw an advertisement in Fleet News. At the time he had already started to undertake a fleet review internally, with input from the organisation’s Foresight Group, which was investigating sustainability options for the company.

Neil explained: “As I began examining the whole lifecycle of our fleet, I thought about the relationship between CO2 emissions, the cost of fuel and residual values. I feared long-term second-hand values of gas-guzzlers could reduce.

“I contacted the Energy Saving Trust so one of their consultants could carry out a Green Fleet Review. I wanted the review to provide a snapshot of where we were, give some credibility to my thinking, and also come up with some ideas.

“I ended up with a series of recommendations from both the Energy Saving Trust and our own Foresight Group, which were both pulling in the same direction in terms of helping us to reduce our carbon footprint.”

“I contacted the Energy Saving Trust for a snapshot of where we were, to give credibility to my thinking, and come up with some ideas. They have played a significant part in  providing us with practical solutions.” Neil Ashton, Head of Procurement and Supplier Management.

Incentives to choose low emission cars
While average vehicle emissions across the staff company cars were described in the Green Fleet Review as “moderate”, the exhaust output from the largely ‘perk’ cars driven by partners was described as “very carbon intensive”. A radically revised car policy based around an emissions cap was therefore recommended.

Instead of using a g/km figure, Davis Langdon has used the actual VED bands. With an open choice company car policy, staff drivers are incentivised through an allowance system to choose a low emission car – the cleaner the car, the larger the allowance.

An identical system is in place for company car opt-out drivers who must now choose a car less than six years old with a minimum four star Euro NCAP rating. Meanwhile, partners who choose a company car in VED bands E–G pay a financial penalty with the cash paid into the company’s carbon offsetting programme.

Neil said: “The scheme is in its infancy so it is too early to have a clear picture of how it’s performing. But the initiative has been welcomed by our employees, many of whom are conscientious about their carbon emissions. They also understand that by choosing a low emission car their benefit-in-kind tax liability will be lower.”

In a move to address the health and safety risks of at-work drivers, the organisation has decided to axe the use of private cars for business travel, so staff who need make journeys for work either use public transport or travel by hire car.

“The duty of care risks faced by organisations allowing employees to use their own cars on business are so high that we decided to remove those risks completely,” said Neil. “We believe we are among the first to take this step.”

Future plans involve setting carbon reduction targets
Talking about the next phase of the Green Fleet Review implementation process, Neil said: “We have not set any benchmarks at the moment. In 12 months time I think we will have meaningful information that will enable Davis Langdon to set carbon reduction targets across the fleet.”

The introduction of fuel cards to provide useful data on actual fuel usage and mileage is also on the agenda, and Davis Langdon’s fleet management company will shortly embark on a car and driver risk analysis that could see a number of strategies put into place, including driver training.

Green Fleet Review promotes credible solutions
“The Green Fleet Review has been extremely useful,” said Neil. “Being independent it brings credibility to internal debate and promotes new ideas. The actual report and presentation was easily understood by the layman.

“Since receiving the report we have continued to hold extensive dialogue with the Energy Saving Trust as we cement our plans. While we want to reduce our vehicle emissions, we must also offer a car policy that ensures we are competitive in terms of staff recruitment and retention.

“The work undertaken by the Energy Saving Trust has played a significant part in providing Davis Langdon with practical solutions to put the organisation on the road to achieve its objectives.”