If you are here reading this article, it shows your concern towards the environment and your urge to contribute to the aim of a green planet. Fuel consumption has increased from 291 million tonnes to 298 million tonnes from 2013 to 2015 as per the global shipping emission report. The burning of fossil fuels results in the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases like methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons which causes global warming.
Government in various countries are running ventures to decrease carbon emission by promoting fleet sustainability. If you are in the vehicle business it becomes important for you to know how can you maintain fleet sustainability. In this article, we will also mention the main 3 strategies to boost fleet sustainability so stay tuned!
The importance of maintaining fleet sustainability
In the UK, the transportation sector is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Different categories of cars produce different levels of emission:
- An SUV or pick-up car emits 13090.676 Kgs of carbon dioxide per annum.
- A mid-size car emits 8981.1289 Kgs of carbon dioxide per annum.
- A compact car emits 4817.151 Kgs of carbon dioxide per annum.
Benefits of sustainable fleet management
- Decrease operational expenditure on oil and maintenance and by saving fuel up to 79% and hence optimize total cost of ownership.
- Decrease CO2 emissions of the entire fleet and thus reach the company’s goal of environmental enhancement.
- Provide clean air zones to your drivers and fleet.
- Use electric vehicles in your last-mile delivery strategy to ensure limited or no emission.
Fleet sustainability is not just limited to certain benefits but is a gradual and continuous process of recognizing the environmental impact of the fleet, improving the practices involved, executing the plan, analyzing success, and repeating the process again.
In 2019, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) completed its 25 years and the UN came up with the Paris Agreement.
All 189 countries participated in this agreement which aims to meet a climate-enhancement goal of reaching zero net emission by 2050. This agreement expected countries to track the earth’s temperature and its prevention to not exceed 2 degrees.
Here are 3 strategies to maintain fleet sustainability
No matter what but actions speak louder than words. So stop thinking about how to maintain fleet sustainability and it’s time to implement these best 3 practices.
1. Keep the track of mileage traveled
You can never limit the rides but you can definitely limit the unnecessary kilometers traveled. This way you can prevent unimportant journeys that lead to environmental gas emissions, huge fuel consumption, wear and tear of vehicles, and time spent on trips that can be used to manage other tasks.
3 tips to minimize traveled mileage:
- Analyze and merge the routes and trips to avoid path repetition.
- Proceed with the trip only when needed(for instance: some not so important physical meetings can be replaced with online meetings).
- Measure the distance and time required for deliveries with fleet management software, to ensure the efficiency of the fleet.
- For high-utilization routes and to reduce fuel usage, offer passenger transportation to your company staff.
2. Tracking the number and size of vehicles required
The number and size of fleet required depends on the following:
- Your fleet requirements
- Mobility with the need specified in its mission
- Operating areas
Being a fleet manager, it’s your duty to make your fleet management sustainable by recognizing inefficient vehicles that are not compatible with the above-mentioned factors and removing them from the system. Or you can replace them with more efficient vehicles that use less fuel per kilometer traveled or use alternative fuels when you can.
Fleet managers can save on travel and fleet maintenance by analyzing the fleet operations throughout their use. It will minimize operation costs, fuel consumption, maintenance, and vehicle purchase.
And now comes the 3rd and most important strategy on how to maintain fleet sustainability.
3. Boost your fuel efficiency
- Keep your fleet in proper working condition by scheduling the fleet maintenance routine and measuring their pneumatic pressure.
- Stop idling vehicles. Install a slow idle mitigation system on your fleet management software to get a reminder when your vehicle is left idle for more than a specific time duration.
- Improving driver’s driving behavior. Drivers must be properly trained to drive safely, and efficiently within the speed limits and on the specified paths to save fuel.
- Purchase vehicles with less fuel requirement like hybrid electric vehicles(HEVs). Electric vehicles are leading the vehicle industry because they need no alternative supply infrastructure.
- Reduce fossil fuel consumption and replace it with other fuel alternatives like biodiesel, electricity, and replenishable diesel combinations. To implement this, select the category of vehicle, alternative fuel, and the entire framework that matches with your fleet operation area, fleet location, and fleet’s characteristics.
- Take out time and properly analyze the vehicles in your system that are less efficient and have high fuel requirements. You can achieve this analysis through a fleet management system to boost your fleet efficiency.
So these were the 3 strategies that after implementation can enhance your fleet sustainability. But how to ensure that your company members follow the guidelines that you prepared?
Offer incentives to your staff to follow the fleet sustainable guidelines
Some of the car rental companies or any organization working with a large fleet can follow one or more fleet sustainable programs to inspire all their staff members for practicing a sustainable mindset in their personal and professional lives. In these programs, you can provide incentives for promoting biking, walking, or choosing public transport over personal rides.
Organize sustainable committees, awareness campaigns, and VIP parking spaces to encourage employees to believe in the green fleet.
Follow these 3 best practices to maintain fleet sustainability
Enough of reading and now is the time to implement these 3 strategies. Take the initiative and evolve with experience. Your future self will thank you enough for breathing into the fresh air by taking small steps towards fleet sustainability.
We hope that we were able to answer your query of “how to maintain fleet sustainability?” if you still have some queries or doubts, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. You can also contact us personally by emailing us at info@securefleetmanager.com.
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