Laing O’Rourke
Key contact: Sasu Mitra, Development Leader
Fleet profile: 4,560 vehicles (1,742 leased cars, 1,897 grey fleet cars, 921 LCVs)
Business: The UK’s largest privately-owned construction company
Locations: UK headquarters in Dartford, Kent with 10 regional offices spread across the country

Laing O’Rourke, the UK’s largest private construction company, is going for gold by transforming its 4,500-vehicle fleet into an environmentally friendly operation as it reduces fuel expenditure and vehicle carbon emissions.

The international company operates one of the UK’s largest car and light commercial vehicle fleets, travelling more than 74 million miles a year and emitting more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Its fuel bills top £12 million per annum.

Transport operations became a priority area for action as part of a wider crosscompany
review of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Implementing advice provided by an Energy Saving Trust Green Fleet Review allowed the organisation to take an objective look at their fleet and provided a clear focus for making the following changes:
• Improved mileage and fuel data gathering, in turn providing more detailed information on where cost controls can be improved
• A revised company car policy to encourage low emission vehicle choice, with the added benefits of reduced benefit-in-kind tax bills for drivers and reduced National Insurance contributions for employers
• Travel alternatives such as onsite shuttle bus services
• More effective management of occupational road risk

Accurate data essential starting point
To secure the benefits of a Green Fleet Review, it was crucial to first establish accurate baseline data for the entire fleet. In the case of Laing O’Rourke this meant detailed investigations to capture accurate data across the 1,750-strong leased car fleet, the near 1,900-strong cash opt-out fleet and the 920-strong LCV fleet.

The task of gathering data on age profile, mileage, fuel costs and carbon emissions required detailed research and analysis; however Laing O’Rourke knew it was worth investing the time to get it right. The implementation of efficient monitoring and monthly determination of mpg alone can save up to 10 per cent in fuel costs – in Laing O’Rourke’s case that meant a potential saving of around £1.2 million a year (or more if fuel prices continue to rise).

“Overall the Green Fleet Review report gave us direction and focus, providing professional, pragmatic advice and clearly identifiable sustainable solutions.” Sasu Mitra,
Development Leader, Laing O’Rourke

Three-year action plan compiled
Detailed analysis of the entire fleet operation resulted in a number of recommendations to be implemented over a three-year period. These included:
• Reviewing private use of company purchased fuel (due to tax implications this can be expensive for both employers and drivers and encourages additional mileage)
• Providing fuel cards for all company car drivers, which can be used to gather higher quality mileage data
• Encouraging staff to choose low emission cars (from VED bands A and B), which has already resulted in a rising demand for hybrids among senior directors
• Determining mpg for all cars and vans at least once a month
• Introducing minimum standards for opt-out cars (some privately-owned cars being driven on business are more than 20 years old) and in the long-term encouraging staff to rejoin the company car scheme
• Ensuring all new vehicles are equipped with electronic stability control
• Reducing vehicle use by encouraging employees to use public transport and video conferencing

Flying start to ‘green fleet journey’
The ‘green fleet journey’ has just started for Laing O’Rourke but a range of actions have already been implemented.

The initial focus has been on changing the company car list and providing staff with information to encourage low-emission vehicle choice, checking employee driving licences and encouraging staff to use the public shuttle bus service.

A new company-wide communication project has also been launched to promote safer, stress free driving, journey planning and car sharing. As staff become increasingly more aware of the financial and environmental benefits of these new initiatives, other recommendations will be introduced and integrated into Laing O’Rourke’s environmental management and occupational health and safety policies.

The company’s corporate social agenda is reviewed twice a year and the Green Fleet Review recommendations will now play a key part in that programme, beginning with setting carbon reduction targets and focusing on alternative methods of work and travel.
Practical advice reaps benefits Laing O’Rourke have always been committed to the principles of corporate social responsibility; however they wanted to partner with an organisation that could help them implement practical measures. For Sasu Mitra, Development Leader, the Energy Saving Trust’s input was essential in starting off the journey.

He said: “The holistic approach taken by the Energy Saving Trust has been very informative and the practical recommendations are proving very useful – we expect to see many resulting benefits in the future.

“Crucially, these recommendations provided a policy-setting focus to help management understand the long-term benefits of running a greener, safer fleet, and ensured we had buy-in for making the necessary changes.

“Overall the Green Fleet Review report gave us direction and focus, providing professional, pragmatic advice and clearly identifiable sustainable solutions.”

Source: Energy Saving Trust