Give thought to your green fleet initiatives

Richard Parker, Bridgestone Mobility Solutions EV specialist and corporate sales manager for Webfleet, explores some of the pressing questions facing the transport sector as it targets net zero that, for some organisations, greater visibility will soon be needed over supply chain sustainability – including fleet transport operations.

Will current cost pressures delay green fleet initiatives?

Although decarbonisation remains high on business agendas, the financial challenges currently facing fleet operators are considerable and, for many, cost control has become the number one priority.

It should be remembered that financial and sustainability business objectives, however, can go hand-in-hand. Strategies to reduce fuel spend for example – typically the largest fleet cost – such as initiatives to improve driving performance or more effective vehicle maintenance, are also important for reducing carbon emissions. Smarter job allocation and scheduling processes can have a notable impact on mileage costs and productivity, but they are also intrinsic to a fleet’s carbon footprint.

From an e-mobility perspective, although the financial benefits of transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) may be more challenging than before, whole-life savings can still be made and as the clock ticks on, the 2030 end date for procuring new fossil-fuelled cars and vans, fleets can ill-afford to kick the proverbial can too far down the road. Fleet management solutions, such as Webfleet, offer businesses a digital route to efficiently achieving their strategic objectives in all of these areas.

What will be the biggest catalyst for fleet decarbonisation over the coming months?

Regulatory and compliance pressures are continuing to light the ‘green’ touch paper for fleets as the government sets its stall out to deliver on net zero and air pollution targets.

The launch of Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has followed hot on the heels of a similar scheme in Newcastle. Fines for non-compliant vehicles entering London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), meanwhile, have now been increased to £190 ahead of its expansion across the city’s boroughs, and Transport for London (TfL) has also launched a supporting £110 million scrappage scheme. Elsewhere, fleets should keep a watchful eye on future corporate obligations for emissions reporting. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) recently announced it will include Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting as part of its sustainability-related disclosure standards. Scope 3 emissions are those that originate in the value chain. Although they’re beyond a company’s direct control, this ISSB move means

The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) already recommends that certain large businesses in the UK should disclose Scope 3 emissions “if appropriate”, and these latest standards are expected to heavily influence future mandatory reporting requirements.

As a fleet you may not have to directly report on your carbon footprint, but you may be called upon to supply emissions information to customers that do. And the greener the fleet, the greater the likelihood of you retaining, or winning, service contracts. Scrutiny over the green credentials of transport operations, along with pressure to decarbonise, looks set to intensify.

What can fleets do to prepare for Scope 3 disclosure requirements? Telematics solutions offer a logical route to simplifying the calculation of transportrelated emissions for fleet operators.

Webfleet’s fuel consumption and CO2 reports, for example, will automatically generate fuel usage and emissions information for every vehicle and journey, at the touch of a button. What’s more, systems such as Webfleet not only offer the insights needed for emissions monitoring, but also for carbon footprint reduction.

Extensive reporting tools – everything from vehicle location, routing, scheduling and driver behaviour scores to mpg and idling time, maintenance and fuel card information – enable the root causes of fuel wastage to be identified and tackled.

Management information is available on a range of driving behaviours that can negatively affect mpg, including harsh steering, braking, speeding and vehicle idling. Profiles can be created for an entire fleet or for individual drivers, based on their performance, while drivers can be empowered to adjust their behaviour behind the wheel in real time. Predictive alerts can unlock the door to even greater fuel and emissions savings. Trouble codes, for instance, can be reported directly from vehicle engines, with management immediately notified to help ensure problems that impact vehicle performance are quickly fixed. Webfleet TPMS, meanwhile, utilises advanced sensors to automate the monitoring of tyre pressure levels and temperature. The opportunities for leveraging vehicle and driving data insights to decarbonise are far reaching.

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the role of telematics in supporting e-mobility gathering pace?

Bridgestone Mobility Solutions continually strives to raise awareness of the potential of electric transport and the role of datadriven insights. To this end, we have chosen to support, once again, the 2023 GB EV Rally as the event’s technology partner. Using dedicated EV software tools, fleet managers can access crucial information on everything from real time battery levels, remaining driving ranges and energy usage to charging processes and vehicle charge levels. Businesses increasingly recognise the importance of harnessing such intelligence for cost-effectively transitioning to – and operating – an electric vehicle fleet. By doing so, they are charting a course to a more sustainable future. L