More ways to go green

Arval suggests... Address the grey fleet

As well as the impact on meeting duty of care requirements, grey fleet vehicles tend to be the most polluting because they are often older than company vehicles. Eliminating the grey fleet and allocating employees either pool cars, rental vehicles or a company car for business journeys is often a more efficient alternative.

Is it a ‘quick win’ or in the ‘harder to do’ category?

This is not a quick win, but very few sustainable initiatives are if you want to make a real difference. Sourcing the vehicles can be relatively quick, especially if you go for the short term rental option, but sufficient time must be spent first analysing driver behaviour to select the best solution for the business.

What are the potential savings (monetary and/or CO2)?

Depending on the vehicles that the company selects, CO₂ savings can be significant, plus the company has the ability to measure and track vehicle related CO₂ which is almost impossible when dealing with the grey fleet. Cost savings come through fuel reimbursement rates, as well as protecting company reputation and mitigating duty of care risks.

What are the steps to introduce it?

The starting point is to understand the scale of grey fleet; so how many people are carrying out journeys, how often, and mileage. Once you have this you can decide if permanent pool cars or short term rental vehicles are the most cost effective option. While for employees regularly carrying out business journeys, an efficient company car may be the best choice.

Once a decision has been made, the business must clearly communicate the change of policy to its employees and other key stakeholder groups.

Don’t discount new vehicle technologies – when deployed in the right circumstances, new vehicle technologies can significantly green the fleet. To help customers in making this decision, we have launched a review document to help customers with this.

Is it a ‘quick win’ or in the ‘harder to do’ category?

This can be a relatively quick win, but you must spend enough time with an expert to understand if new vehicle technologies provide the right fit for the task at hand. If you are going to put drivers into a new vehicle technology, you must also invest the time in educating them to get the most out of the vehicle.

What are the potential savings (monetary and/or CO2)?

Even with the plug in grant, new vehicle technologies can be expensive; however, the environmental impact can be dramatic. For example, if a vehicle is regularly used for short local journeys, fully electric could be a practical option. While hybrid or range extender technology can drive efficiency for longer journeys.

What are the steps to introduce it?

The first step is to understand what’s out there and in which circumstances it could be practically deployed.  We spend a great deal of time reviewing vehicles for our customers so that we can advise them on the best fit for their specific needs.

How can any potential hurdles be overcome?

It is essential to invest the time to understand driver patterns so that the right vehicles can be matched with the task. New vehicle technologies are not the right option in all cases, and developments in the efficiency of standard petrol or diesel variants means that they are often very efficient.

When deploying new vehicle technologies, it is essential to educate drivers so that they can use them to their potential.