Despite sustainability being high on the agenda for European companies, many are still unaware of their environmental impact, with just 37% monitoring CO₂ emissions, new research suggests.

Alphabet’s European Fleet Emission Monitor also reveals that 17% have no knowledge at all of their fleet emissions.

The survey of international fleet decision-makers also highlighted a shortage of holistic tools that help organisations measure and track their decarbonisation progress.

In order to better understand if companies are meeting their sustainability targets and gather insight into current business practices and attitudes towards CO₂ emissions, Alphabet surveyed more than 700 corporate fleet managers across Europe.

The company’s European Fleet Emission Monitor captured the perspectives of fleet decision-makers from 12 countries with organisations varying in both size and industry.

The findings indicate that despite recognising the importance of sustainability in their operations, many businesses are not implementing adequate measures to record and reduce their carbon footprint and a more comprehensive approach may be necessary in order to achieve their sustainability goals.

“Our customers are at the very heart of everything we do, and the survey results have identified a pressing need for a comprehensive and user-friendly CO₂ monitoring solution - particularly with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) coming into effect from 2024," said Andreas Baron, sustainability and consulting expert at Alphabet International.

"Our aim is to guide fleet and sustainability managers towards their CO₂ objectives, and an important initial stride towards achieving this is ensuring they have access to a reliable system that gives them a clear snapshot of their current position and enables them to adjust their fleet accordingly.

“That's why Alphabet is investing in a new CO₂ monitoring tool. We’re teaming up with an esteemed external partner to develop an innovative offering that empowers fleet managers.

“The tool will help fleet managers balance economic efficiency with sustainable practices and make well-informed, meaningful decisions with ease.”

Sustainability is widely accepted as a crucial factor for fleet managers, with close to two-thirds acknowledging the overall need to consider it in business decisions and a similar proportion (61%) taking sustainability into account during fleet planning.

However, sustainability does not play a consistent role in decision-making for all companies; 38% revealed that they are aware of its importance and discuss it, but do not always bear it in mind. And a further 10% admitted that they do not consider sustainability at all when making company-wide decisions.

Reducing fleet CO₂ emissions, however, is a key focus for 83% of companies surveyed. In fact, more than half of these businesses have set specific CO₂ goals for the future, with over a third aiming to achieve them within the next two to five years.

Electrification still a major challenge

The results of Alphabet’s European Fleet Emission Monitor also underline the importance of electrification.

According to the survey, the majority (69%) of decision-makers believe their fleet will be fully electrified in the future; 30% anticipate it being entirely free of petrol and diesel vehicles within the next six to ten years and 29% expect to make the switch in less than five years.

Despite this optimism, the research revealed that there are still significant barriers to electrification that need to be addressed.

Less than 1% of companies surveyed have fully transitioned to EVs, and an overwhelming 94% of fleet managers see challenges on the road to zero with range and charging infrastructure topping the list of concerns.

Employee reluctance to transition from traditional ICE vehicles was also identified as a major obstacle by 7% of respondents.

Markus Deusing, CEO of Alphabet International, said: “We are witnessing a shift in economic thinking. Sustainability has gained a much higher significance in decision-making over the past couple of years.

“Fleet planning is a great example of how challenging it can be to bring economic efficiency or profitability in balance with a sustainability-oriented business model.

“Success and sustainability need to be compatible, and they can be. The first step is to make sure fleet managers have access to a system that allows them to fully understand their status quo and make changes accordingly.

“The survey results serve as a call to action for companies to take immediate steps to reduce their emissions and adopt a more sustainable approach. It is the responsibility of all of us to lead by example and implement measures that help create a greener future for generations to come,” Markus concludes.

Alphabet’s European Fleet Emission Monitor report is available to download here.