Speaker highlights from this year's Fleet News/Energy Saving Trust Green Summit with case studies from Avon Cosmetics and private car hire company Green Tomatoes.
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Euan Smith, BSkyB
Mark Hanley, BCA
Case Study: Tom Packenham, Green Tomatoes
Nigel Underdown, Energy Savings Trust
Case Study: Gerard Finn, Avon Cosmetics
Quentin Wilson's podcast round-up
Euan Smith, BSkyB
The success of a series of green fleet initiatives for BSkyB has been dependent on the media giant being able to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of its employees.
Running a fleet of 2,500 vans, travelling 3.6 million miles a year and making 9,000 visits a day, it was intent on changing the way it did things and embracing the green agenda.
But Euan Smith, supply chain director at BSkyB, stressed that before its fleet of engineers became involved in the process, it was important that the company as a whole recognised how it needed to change.
“We developed a concept called the bigger picture, which was about things Sky should be doing that are part of the corporate social responsibility agenda,” explained Smith at the Fleet News Green Summit.
“These did not focus necessarily or specifically on cost or on growth, but the things Sky ought to be doing as a key player in people’s communities.”
Having established a framework, Smith said it was then important to link everything back to customer satisfaction and cost reduction, while the buy-in from staff would be crucial to its success.
A range of initiatives were quickly introduced, including cutting air travel by 25%, using hybrid taxis and offering free loft insulation for employees.
It was not long before Sky was able to advertise its green credentials by branding itself as the ‘first carbon neutral media company’.
“With the corporate agenda really firmly set, it’s on the back of that you can start to do things around fleet, because the engineers and support team can see those things happening elsewhere,” said Smith.
A team of 30 engineers were formed to help drive a range of initiatives forward, while tough targets were set, including a 30% reduction in emissions by 2012, to encourage staff to ‘think outside the box’.
In addition, a total of 250 high-risk drivers were identified for further training, 95% of the fleet was converted to B30 biofuel and employees were incentivised by being given any savings made to invest in employee activities.
Smith added: “We are doing the right things and I hope we can achieve even more in the future.”
Mark Hanley, BCA
Fleets embracing hybrid or alternative-fuelled vehicles should not panic when it comes to remarketing them, according to BCA.
While green vehicles make up a very small percentage of vehicles currently coming to auction, the auction company claims interest is on the up.
Research from BCA reveals that 6% of buyers said that environmental considerations were an influencing factor in their most recent car purchase – up from 2% in 2006.
The volatility of fuel prices and the linking of vehicle excise duty to CO2 emissions were playing their part, with 28% of motorists saying that they would choose a lower emitting vehicle and 50% saying that fuel economy would also be a factor.
However, Mark Hankey, director of BCA, stressed that consumers would still base decisions on price, make, model, mileage, age and body type.
“Therefore, I think it’s very important when buying a new fleet vehicle, which may be a little bit different, that you still remember some of the basic principles of what needs to happen at the back end,” said Hankey at the Fleet News Green Summit.
“When it comes to remarketing green cars, you need to continue to do the basics.”
With a lack of awareness in the market place, it was important fleets did everything they could to ‘reassure’ the potential buyer, added Hankey.
“Buyers have raised concerns about the reliability of alternative-fuelled vehicles,” said Hankey.
“Therefore, make sure the vehicle is fit for purpose.”
Other key considerations included putting vehicles for sale where similar vehicles were being sold, resisting the temptation to overvalue them and getting advice from your remarketing partner.
“Overall do not panic,” added Hankey. “It’s different, it maybe a green car, but it’s still a used vehicle, so let’s treat it like one.”
Case Study: Green Tomatoes
Greentomatocars is an environmentally-friendly private hire service, based in London.
Its director, Tom Packenham, told the Fleet News Green Summit that the company is committed to using the greenest vehicles available for the job – and that this green policy is paying its way.
The 100-plus fleet is made up exclusively of Toyota Prius models. The green policy has several unique selling points that have allowed the company to win significant customers. “Being green wins clients,” Packenham said. “But it also raises awareness, motivates staff and drives innovation.”
Winning such corporate clients as Sky, the Guardian and TK Maxx is more impressive when the company spent nothing on marketing during in its first three years of life.
“This is unprecedented growth in a very competitive industry,” said Packenham. “But the essence of Greentomatocars is to prove that choosing the green option should not mean making a sacrifice either in terms of cost or quality.”
Technology is also playing a major part in the service. The company was the first private hire company in the UK to install telematics, which allows it to monitor driver behaviour (speed, acceleration, braking) and also ensure vehicles meet their maintenance schedules.
In addition, it has become the first taxi to have a full plug-in hybrid on its fleet.
The new Prius plug-in can achieve 100-plus miles per gallon and travel 30 miles in pure electric mode, meaning it produces zero emissions.
Nigel Underdown, Energy Savings Trust
The most effective green fleet policies are simple – drive less, drive the most efficient vehicles and drive them economically.
“As ever in fleet, the devil’s in the detail,” said Nigel Underdown, the Energy Saving Trust’s (EST) head of transport advice.
“At the EST, we have worked with something approaching 500 organisations looking at opportunities to run a greener fleet.
“Some of the initiatives have delivered brilliant results in one organisation but have bombed in a different culture.”
However, he points out that there are common threads that are essential before a greener policy can work:
- Get a board level sponsor.
- Consult early with staff and managers.
- If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.
- Sell the benefits.
Get these in place before introducing your green fleet strategy and you will save your company money and help save the planet at the same time, Underdown told delegates.
Case Study: Avon Cosmetics
Gerard Finn, car fleet and business travel manager at cosmetics giant Avon Cosmetics, has responsibility for its UK fleet of 570 cars, 400 of which go to essential users.
Last year he began a policy of moving to sub-120g/km of CO2 cars. As a result, average new car emissions level has already fallen to 129g/km.
“This has resulted in an annual saving for the company of £200,000,” he told the Fleet News Green Summit. These savings have come from reduced road fund licence costs, fuel savings (5%) and improved residual values (up by as much as 10%). National Insurance costs have also fallen by 25%.
The current fleet agreement procurement ends in December 2009, with a new agreement being introduced for 2010 onward.
This will be an internationally coherent fleet policy, he said. “It must be commercially viable, with sustainable benefits.
“The aim is to continually reduce the CO2 output from our fleet and help the company avoid the costs incurred by producing carbon.”
Clich here to hear Quentin Willson's podcast round up from the Green Summit.
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