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Introduction
Significant improvements in fuel efficiency can often
be achieved with little capital investment through improvements
in vehicle management and utilisation. By simply using
the resources at your disposal as efficiently and cost
effectively as possible you will save money, reduce
pollution and congestion and demonstrate a commitment
to the environment that is invaluable for a company's
image.
A Green Fleet is a well-run fleet:
DEFRA and the Freight Transport Association carried
out a survey on the environmental performance of 300
lorry fleets and showed that the best fleets achieved
almost double the miles per gallon of the worst fleets.
Vehicle Maintenance
Improved vehicle emissions may be cancelled out by poor
vehicle maintenance as a badly maintained car can use
up to 30% more fuel than a well maintained car of the
same age. Therefore keeping vehicles well maintained
can result in significant cost savings.
Driver training (greener
driving)
The way you drive a vehicle can have a big impact on
fuel efficiency. With the correct driver training fuel
use can be reduced by between 10 and 30% depending on
the driver and the trip type. Improved training can
also help to reduce accident and maintenance costs.
Useful Tips
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Avoid rapid acceleration and braking - smooth
driving can use 30% less fuel
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Doing 50 mph can use 25% less fuel than 70 mph
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For every 6 psi a tyre is under-inflated, fuel
consumption can rise by 1%
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Don't idle - as well as wasting fuel idling also
stops the catalytic converter
ActionEnergy (Formerly EEBPP) has a range of publications
offering advice and information on improving energy
efficiency through driver training including:
Energy Savings Through Improved Driver Training (Ref.
GPCS311)
The Road to More Efficient Transport (Ref. FL0095)
For further information visit
the
ActionEnergy website or telephone the Environment
and Energy Helpline
tel: 0800 585 794
Some insurance companies have developed partnerships
with fleet training providers, offering incentives to
those who enrol on their partner's courses.
A list of national driver training companies can be
found at Fleet
Directory UK
Travel Plans
The Government wants to encourage employers to develop
travel plans aimed at reducing car use (particularly
by single drivers) and promoting sustainable alternatives
to help reduce the environmental and social impact of
travelling by road.
The true cost to business of car travel and the associated
provision of free parking is hardly ever calculated.
Developing a travel plan for your organisation makes
good environmental and financial sense
At its very simplest a travel plan addresses travel
by staff to and from work and on business. However a
travel plan can address:-
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Visitor, client and customer travel
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Suppliers making deliveries
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Contractors undertaking work on the site
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Operations of the organisations vehicle fleet
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Implementing travel plans can help:-
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Relieve on-site car parking or congestion problems
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Improve Public Transport Services
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Increase choice for employees
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Promote healthier forms of travel amongst employees
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Sources of Further Information
Department
for Transport: Travel Plans
TransportEnergy
Best Practice Programme
Selective Purchasing
Company cars tend to be larger and more powerful than
privately owned cars and therefore are usually less
fuel efficient with poorer environmental performance.
As nearly half of all vehicles sold in the UK are to
the fleet market, purchasing decisions by fleet mangers
can have a major influence on the environmental impact
of vehicle emissions not only today but also in the
future through Knock-on effects in the second-hand market.
Purchasing cars with improved environmental performance
will lead to significant financial savings in Vehicle
Excise Duty as the rate payable is no longer dependant
on engine size but on the level of CO2 emissions. Also
from April 2002 tax reforms mean that the benefit on
company cars will also
be graduated according to CO2 emissions.
At the present time clean
fuel vehicles (CFVS) are more expensive to buy than
conventional vehicles, however, applying for a Powershift
grant may offset this initial extra cost. Once purchased
CFVs are often more fuel efficient, cheaper to run (due
to reduced fuel duty on alternative (clean) fuels) and
subject to tax reductions and concessions.
How can I compare the Environmental Performance
of one model over another?
Motor manufacturers have undertaken a voluntary agreement
to place labels on fuel consumption, emissions and noise
levels on all new vehicles. In addition the VCA provides
an online database of new vehicle fuel consumption and
emission figures.
VanData provides an independent comprehensive database
of commercial vehicles prices and specifications.
Movement of Freight
Road freight distribution is a major contributor to
CO2 emissions and air pollution as well as traffic congestion,
of which the latter is rising at an unsustainable level.
To reduce the reliance of freight moved by road the
Government promotes the use of alternative forms of
freight transport by offering Freight
Facilities Grants (FFGs) to any company wishing
to move freight in the UK to offset the extra costs
involved in transporting freight by rail and
inland waterways.
The TransportEnergy
Best Practice Programme provides advice and practical
guidance for freight operators on improving vehicle
utilisation and reducing mileage as well as providing
Good Practice case studies that describe how this has
been achieved. Furthermore the programme provides details
of how to assess areas of inefficiency in the transport
chain through the use of performance indicators and
benchmarking .
Motorvate Accreditation Scheme
The Government has established a greener fleet certification
scheme called Motorvate designed to help improve the
environmental performance of your fleet and cut travel
costs by setting targets for improving fuel efficiency
and reducing fleet mileage.
Motorvate is a Government run voluntary award scheme
designed to help businesses cut CO2 emissions and make
significant savings by running greener and cleaner vehicle
fleets.
Motorvate sets simple achievable targets for improving
environmental performance. Certification is awarded
on a "five star" points system. By joining
the scheme you immediately get a one-star certification
and additional stars are awarded as progression is made
towards targets.
An average fleet of 200 cars can save £34,000
per year by meeting Motorvate targets
Advantages of Joining the Scheme
ü Motorvate provides member organisations with
advice from energy transport and environment experts
on the benefits of buying greener vehicles, achieving
better environmental performance and the best techniques
for achieving fuel savings.
ü Public relations and business advantages of gaining
a high-profile environmental accreditation
ü Up to 3 days of free on-site assistance from
a fleet management consultant
ü Motorvate certification will complement environmental
management systems (EMS) such as ISO 14001 and EMAS
Costs
An annual fee is levied on a sliding scale based on
fleet size
(Costs shown exclude VAT)
For further information visit the Motorvate
website
TransportEnergy Best Practice
Programme
Transport Energy is run by the Energy Saving Trust (EST)
and is the "unmbrella brand" for the Trusts
environmental transport programmes that includes the
Powershift and CleanUP
grant programmes. TransportEnergy have also recently
taken over the Transport Best practice programme from
the EEBPP.
The programme provides independent information and
advice on implementing sustainable transport schemes
including travel
plans, fuel management, improving logistics efficiency
and minimising vehicle use
For further information visit the Best
Practice website
or call the TransportEnergy Hotline on 0845 6021425
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