Breedon GB Materials cuts fleet carbon emissions by 10.9% with Lightfoot

Breedon GB Materials has reduced its fleet fuel costs, CO2 emissions and pollution after installing Lightfoot’s driver coaching system.

The business, which specialises in aggregates and downstream products including asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, and specialist building products, cut fuel costs by 12.2%, CO2 emissions by 10.9% and achieved a 24% reduction in pollution caused by vehicle idling.  

Lightfoot has also improved the safety of Breedon’s drivers. Within just one month of being fitted, instances of aggressive driving were cut by 80%, with harsh acceleration falling by 63%, severe braking by 28%, and cornering at speed by 19%. 

Nigel Clamp, head of Health and Safety at Breedon, said: “As an organisation, we aspire to deliver society with carbon neutral concrete by 2050. We also actively support the Mineral Products Association’s ‘Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero’, which aims to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than the UK concrete and cement industry emits each year.

“To deliver against these ambitious goals, and to hit our own Net Zero by 2050 decarbonisation targets, we are working at every level within the business to identify measures and technology that will enable us to achieve this.”

Installed in its fleet of 380 vans, Lightfoot’s dashboard-mounted driver coaching device provides audible and visual in-cab alerts to keep Breedon’s drivers in the sweet spot of their engine. 

The business is now on target to reduce fleet CO2 emissions by 1,651 tonnes over the next five years: equivalent to removing 359 passenger vehicles from the road.

Clamp added: “By engaging with our drivers and giving them a reason to be smoother, safer, more mindful, and more efficient, we’re not only dramatically cutting emissions, but we’re also lowering the frequency and severity of accidents on the road. That keeps our drivers safer in their daily duties and, in doing so, contributes to lower levels of vehicle wear and tear, and costs associated with vehicle downtime." 

Since the system was introduced, the fleet has gone from 12% of its drivers achieving Elite Driver status, during the Lightfoot blind trial period, to 100% consistently hitting that target each and every week.

The system also flags engine faults, MOT and tax renewal dates, and provides battery health alerts, which help the business operate its fleet more efficiently.

Paul Hollick, MD of Lightfoot, added: “Breedon is focused on reducing its impact on the environment. 

“That’s where our driver-first, self-managed solution comes into its own, actively encouraging and sustaining better driving through reward and recognition. With Lightfoot, Breedon’s drivers are striving to be the best that they can be every time they get in their van. The outcome is reductions in CO2, and fuel use, and enhanced safety records on the road, delivering positive change one mile at a time.”