Report says business leaders must focus more on emissions and cost impacts of company car fleets
Sun 26 August 2007
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The Energy Saving Trust's 'Behind the Wheel' Report examines business leaders’ attitudes to company car fleets and their impact on the environment. The report reveals a surprising lack of interest from many companies over their vehicles’ impact on the environment and the bottom line.
The EST's report says that company car fleets are frequently the second largest overhead a company incurs – yet very few organisations raise the issue as a boardroom agenda item. Remarkably - says EST - the report reveals that 31 per cent of UK businesses still believe that running a more environmentally friendly company car fleet will cost money when, in fact, EST figures show that implementing green fleet management could save UK businesses £2.6 billion a year at no additional cost.
The key findings of the report include:
• A company with a fleet of 100 vehicles could be saving up to £90,000 a year by implementing green fleet policies
• Many companies believe there are insufficient savings to be made by running greener cars, so have no plans to do so
• About a third of companies think it will cost money to introduce a greener fleet
• Yet almost two-thirds of companies that have taken steps to reduce emissions have saved money as a result
• Environmental concerns are low down the list of priorities when it comes to drawing up a company car list
• Relatively few companies allow employees to choose smaller or greener cars
• Of those companies that do permit greener vehicles, only a small proportion incentivise their employees to make that option
• Less than half of companies that have a CSR or environmental policy consider the impact of their vehicles on the environment
• When companies provide a cash alternative to company cars, they are largely unconcerned about the environmental impact of the vehicles driven on company business
• Car choice is often more about status and remuneration than concerns about the environment
• A cultural change is required, so that green cars become more desirable than big, high-status ones
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