Why There is Need of Green Fleet?

There’s no getting around the fact that every fleet is different. Organizations will use different mechanisms to implement a sustainable fleet management strategy that is suitable to their needs. But the variability between fleets doesn’t mean that there isn’t a standard pathway for organizations to follow.

Green Fleet Strategy

At Fleet Pins we believe that a comprehensive green fleet management strategy must focus on six key areas:

• Prioritizing cleaner vehicles
• Electric vehicles
• Staff behavior
• Effective and timely maintenance
• Transportation alternatives
• Mobility as a Service

Selecting cleaner vehicles

One of the best ways to improve a fleet’s green credentials is by choosing vehicles that produce fewer CO2 emissions. According to the Green Vehicle Guide, the average combined CO2 emissions for a new light vehicle was 182 grams per kilometer. In comparison, the worst vehicles for CO2 emissions were more than 370 grams per kilometer. Fleet Managers can research possible vehicles and choose the ones that are going to produce the least number of emissions.

However, it’s one thing for an organization to select low-emission vehicles, it’s another matter entirely to get staff to use them. If you have a large vehicle pool, how do you encourage staff to priorities taking vehicles that produce fewer emissions?

One option is education. You could take advantage of typical communication channels such as posters in staff common rooms, internal newsletters and email memos. However, the size of the organization will determine how successful that will be. It also hinges on the fact that your information will cut through all the other noise that staff deal with, and that they’ll retain the knowledge of which vehicles they should priorities using.

How Fleet Pin Can Help?

Fleet pins offer Fleet management software with ability to include emissions data for each vehicle. As a result, the vehicles in your fleet can be ranked based upon the number of emissions they produce.

When this information is coupled with the automatic vehicle allocation in Pool Car, the most sustainable vehicle available at the time of booking is presented first. In this way, Fleet Managers can ensure vehicle selection is based on criteria that meets organizational goals; the most sustainable vehicle available at the time of booking.

Electric vehicles

Another option that is gaining popularity as part of green fleet management is to replace a portion of the fleet with electric vehicles (EVs). EVs are gaining traction, while it’s worth noting that numbers are coming off a small base, it does indicate that demand for EVs are strong.

However, one of the biggest barriers that we’ve encountered with the take up of EVs in fleets relates to range anxiety. Often staff are concerned that when they’re travelling long-distances they will run out of charge. While range is certainly something to consider when introducing EVs into your fleet, a trip analysis will highlight whether it is in fact an issue.

By analyzing telematics data, we realized that most staff journeys were short-range and could be easily serviced by EVs. This change in thinking was only possible due to the presence of a telematics solution and an analysis of the data it collected.

Staff behavior

While a green fleet management strategy will primarily focus on vehicles, it’s important not to forget the role that staff play. They have a direct impact through both the organization’s culture, and the way they drive the vehicles.

Vehicle selection habits

When it comes to culture, it’s worth training staff on your organization’s green fleet strategy. Do they understand the organization’s commitment to reducing emissions, and are they on board with the proposed goals? If they are, then it’s more likely that they’ll choose vehicles that support the organization’s strategy. In addition, you must be aware of fleet inspection proceedure, so you can explore here: 

Driving behavior

However, staff driving habits will also impact on an organization’s ability to meet sustainability targets. Accelerating too fast or driving at excessive speeds can increase a vehicle’s emissions output. Harsh acceleration and braking will also wear out vehicle components quicker, meaning vehicles will become less efficient.

But staff won’t necessarily know if their driving habits aren’t compliant with an organization’s green fleet strategy. How do you solve this behavior when it’s unlikely you’ll be able to monitor how each staff member drives? 

Telematics data provides fleet managers with the ability to analyses individual driver behavior. When organizations opt for units such Fleet pin tracking Units, they gain access to a whole suite of data. AVLs contain sensitive GPS locators and accelerometers. Consequently, Fleet managers can report on over speeding, as well as harsh acceleration and braking.

Effective and timely maintenance

Keeping your fleet of vehicles maintained and working at peak efficiency is an important task. Servicing vehicles at regular intervals ensures that parts don’t wear out and produce additional emissions. But when you consider that vehicles are going to be driven at different frequencies, it quickly becomes challenging to keep on top of when they require servicing.

A simple alternative is to take advantage of automation. A comprehensive fleet management solution takes the hassle out of scheduling vehicle servicing. Especially when combined with telematics data. For vehicale maintenance you may explore:

Transportation alternatives

Managers throughout the organization also have a role to play in any green fleet management strategy. This is because they are often the ones who approve staff travel.

An organization’s culture plays an important part in any sustainable fleet management strategy. Managers must encourage their direct reports to choose alternative options for short trips.

The time to go green is now

No matter what solution or strategy your organization is looking to adopt, in today’s climate a green fleet management strategy is vitally important. As we’ve seen, you can reduce your fleet's emissions in a number of different ways, and Fleet Pins has years of experience in helping fleets take advantage of these options to make their operations more efficient and sustainable.

Request a demo to talk to us about your fleet’s challenges so we can work together towards creating greener, more sustainable fleets.