How your fleet can reduce carbon emissions

As the world aims to become more sustainable to reduce carbon emissions, we all must play a part in helping to reduce our carbon footprint. Working towards lower levels of Co2 will improve the air quality, environment, and our health.

One of the leading causes of air pollution is UK transportation. According to the transportation and environmental report by the UK Government, transport produced 27% of the UK’s total emissions in 2019, with the majority (91%) came from road transport vehicles such as cars and taxi’s, followed by HGVs’ which made up 61% of transport emissions.

As you can see, transportation needs to reduce their Co2 emissions to improve the environment. Here are some ways in which you can reduce your fleets carbon emissions and work towards more sustainable fleet management.

8 ways to reduce carbon emissions

1. Review your current co2 usage

To track how much Co2 you need to reduce, you first need to understand how the current carbon footprint of your fleet looks like. You can do this by measuring the amount of fuel used by using a carbon footprint calculator or by working out your vehicle CO2 grams per kilometre rating and annual mileage.

Once you have calculated your current position, you can then work out how you can reduce co2 emissions and work towards a healthier and more sustainable fleet.

2. Route optimisation

When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, a simple and effective change can start with route optimisation. You can optimise your routes by avoiding busy areas during rush hour, taking shortcuts to reduce mileage and opting for roads where less stop-starting is involved.  

3. Electric vehicles

The best way to reduce carbon emissions in a drastic and instant way is to switch to electric vehicles. It can also save your fleet money as electric vehicles are cheaper to run and tax and are exempt from congestion charges. If you aren’t ready to switch to electric vehicles, you can start by trying hybrid vehicles that use a combination of fuel and electric power.

4. Vehicle sharing

To reduce the number of vehicles you have on the road, you can introduce vehicle sharing. This works best for deliveries or for businesses who lease cars for their staff to use either for personal use or client visits.

5. Consider vehicle weight

The weight of the vehicle plays a part in the volume of CO2 emissions your fleet produces. Reduced vehicle weight will reduce CO2 emissions. Removing just 45kg of excess weight can increase fuel efficiency by 2%. Consider having a maximum weight load less than the actual vehicle maximum weight load or leaving behind unnecessary weight such as roof racks.

6. Vehicle maintenance (such as tyre pressure)

Ensuring the tyre pressure is at the right level is important. Inflated tyres can have a positive effect on CO2 emissions as it reduces the amount of fuel you use. If your vehicle has low tyre pressure, it can lead to a higher rate of rolling resistance, which makes engines use extra fuel to work harder.

7. Review fleet policy

Update your fleet policy to introduce measures to reduce your fleet carbon emissions, such as reducing journey times, no unnecessary trips, or multiple journeys back and forth that could have been done in one.

This is where you can communicate how much you plan to reduce carbon emissions and how you expect the business to achieve that. This can also be used for any environmental audits and the lower your CO2 emissions are, the cheaper your fleet car insurance can be.

8. Set a CO2 target

Set your business a target of how much it wants to reduce carbon emissions and when by. Setting a goal or target that is realistic will help incentivise your business to be more sustainable. Do this each year and factor into the annual budget the changes you need to make to become more carbon neutral.

The benefits of reducing Co2 emissions

The main benefit of reducing your fleet Co2 emissions is the effect it has on the environment. Low emission cars mean less vehicle tax, no congestion charges and cheaper fuel, especially if you go fully electric. As automotive manufactures are becoming more innovative with their electric vehicle offerings, you can expect to see many more advanced electric vehicles enter the market over the next few years.