ONE of Britain's leading 'green' fleet managers has warned car manufacturers that their position within his radical '21st century fleet policy' will be at risk unless they stay at the forefront of emissions technology. Simon Boggis, group fleet purchasing manager for TNT UK & Eire, and winner of numerous Fleet News Awards, including last year's Fleet Environmental Award, has put carbon dioxide emissions at the heart of his vehicle choice list.

He has thrown his support behind diesel as the best solution for cutting pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, and cautioned manufacturers that they must develop particulate traps and filters to eliminate oxides of nitrogen. Boggis said modern diesel cars' fuel efficiency will help control the 55 million litres of diesel TNT uses each year, while their low CO2 emissions will limit drivers' company car tax liability when the new tax system is introduced in 2002.

His firm operates under a new combined fleet policy for the international and UK departments, which have 1,500 cars and 5,500 commercial vehicles. The newly-enlarged fleet is using a system Boggis developed when he was fleet manager at TNT International to calculate the damage caused to the environment by each of his vehicles, to help compile a choice list .

Boggis said: 'We will only be buying cleaner diesel vehicles in future. Company car drivers are taking on vehicles which will be affected by CO2-based company car tax. We are doing the best we can to prepare ourselves. Manufacturers know we want to be a leading light in cutting emissions and if they are not in line with fuel economy and cleanliness levels, they will not remain on our choice lists.'