Fleet ignorance around fines for failing to report vehicle emissions

One-in-four fleets do not know the potential financial penalties for failing to report their vehicle emissions, new research from suggests.

Furthermore, more than a quarter (26%) of those questioned admit they do not know the difference between Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Some one-in-10, meanwhile, said that they were confused or not confident in being able to report their fleet emissions, and a similar number (12%) see all reporting of vehicle emissions as merely ‘a tick-box exercise’.

The study, conducted by vehicle leasing company Alphabet (GB) and released today (Thursday, June 19) to coincide with Clean Air Day, that fleet managers across the country lack the crucial knowledge to accurately report their vehicle emissions data.

As a result, Alphabet is urging the UK Government to do more to support fleet managers to improve their understanding of calculating, recording, and reporting emissions.

“Our study shows that there is a significant knowledge gap when it comes to fleet emissions reporting,” said Caroline Sandall-Mansergh, consultancy and channel development manager at Alphabet (GB).

“Fleet managers and business owners need to take the support available to better understand the complexities of emissions calculating, recording and reporting to ensure compliance and avoid the risk of costly penalties.”

Scope 1 emissions are those from sources owned or controlled by the company, such as fuel combustion in its boilers. It also includes vehicle fleet emissions.

Scope 2 emissions cover indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating or cooling.

Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions not already classified in scopes 1 and 2. This includes emissions from upstream activities such as purchased goods and services, and downstream activities such as waste disposal and employee commuting.

Across different industry sectors, the study highlights a great disparity in knowledge.

Among respondents working in logistics; a sector which often has substantial vehicle fleets, 92% of respondents were able to differentiate between the three emission scopes.

The result was similar in construction (85%). However, those working in the public sector were least knowledgeable, at only 60%.

Alphabet says it is also concerning that 15% of large UK companies (those with more than 250 employees) are either not confident, confused, or think reporting emissions is ‘a tick-box exercise’.

The Alphabet research comes after a separate study from Microlise suggested that just a third of fleets use software to track emissions from their vehicles. 

Earlier this month (June), Alphabet also reported that many businesses are still using spreadsheets and paper-based processes to monitor their fleet emissions.

More than a third (38%) of fleet managers said they still use simple spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Excel, or even paper, to record the emissions of their fleet.