Lex Autolease offers its clients best practice advice on its website (lexautolease.co.uk/thegreen).

This emphasises the need to eliminate idling and over-revving, and to ensure proper maintenance.

Tyre selection can also make a significant impact, which the EU has recognised with its new labelling legislation designed to inform buyers to about the most energy-efficient tyres (as well as stopping distance and noise level): 85% of a tyre’s carbon footprint arises from its link to fuel usage – i.e. on the road.

ATS Euromaster says an A-rated tyre will offer a 7.5% fuel economy – or 50,000 litres for every 100,000km – against a G-rated tyre.

Proper inflation also saves carbon.

When you have optimised your vehicle, trained and monitored your driver, and perfected the culture and routes, you will still have a carbon footprint, albeit much reduced.

Fleets that want to become carbon-neutral for essential journeys will have to offset this.

Top tips

  1. Examine current journeys/loads or job allocations with modelling software and against fuelcard data, for routing or operational inefficiencies.
  2. Monitor drivers’ routes and their driving style.
  3. Look at job allocation in terms of whole fleet efficiency, which is not necessarily the same as always using the nearest vehicle.
  4. Use routing and scheduling software which can also handle ‘what if?’ scenarios.
  5. Encourage use of pool cars and car-sharing and minimise grey fleet usage.
  6. Leasing firms and EST all have online resources for managing mileage: see EST’s 2012 webinar series.

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