THE Environment Agency is claiming its list of the top 20 cleanest company cars could be used as a blueprint by fleets wanting to go green.

The Government body has published a league of the 20 most environmentally-friendly vehicles on its own fleet in a bid to encourage its drivers to choose greener cars. It is encouraging environmentally-conscious companies to use the list for their own fleets.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency added: 'We think this list is a sound, solid guideline which we would encourage other fleets to follow.'

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Dualfuel was ranked top of the Environment Agency's chart, followed by the Suzuki Alto 1.1 petrol and the Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Dualfuel.

The agency has produced its league of green cars in an effort to influence its own company car drivers on its fleet of 3,000 leased cars to become even greener. The agency is also offering financial bonuses to its drivers when switching to greener vehicles.

Don Ridley, fleet adviser to the Environment Agency, said: 'We try to take a well-to-wheel view of green vehicles and encourage our drivers to choose the greenest, most environmentally-friendly vehicles possible.

'We have compiled the top 20 cleanest cars rating as a guide for our drivers to be able to see which produce the least harmful emissions. We then provide a financial incentive for them to choose the cleanest and greenest. That could equate to a saving of £25 to £40 per month.'

The top 20 'green league' is created by the Environment Agency using a formula which calculates a vehicle's impact on global warming and air quality, using a combination of tailpipe emission and fuel economy figures from the Vehicle Certification Agency alongside scientific reports (see table right).

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    Environment Agency's top 20 greenest vehicles on its fleet

    1. Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 LPG
    2. Suzuki Alto/Swift 1.1
    3. Vauxhall Astra 1.6 LPG
    4. Honda Civic IMA hybrid
    5. Vauxhall Corsa 1.0
    6. Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 LPG
    7. Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi
    8. Toyota Prius 1.5 hybrid
    9. Vauxhall Astra 1.8 LPG
    10. Toyota Yaris 1.0/1.3
    11. Ford Focus 1.8 LPG
    12. Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 LPG
    13. Fiat Punto 1.3 Multijet
    14. Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi
    15. Hyundai Getz 1.1 19.47
    16. Honda Jazz 1.4 i-DSi 19.50
    17. Renault Clio 1.2 20.15
    18. Fiat Punto 1.2 20.20
    19. Volkswagen Lupo 1.0 20.26
    20. Seat Arosa 1.0 20.38

  • Vehicles ranked on environmental impact. Source: Environment Agency