Dynamic Business

Green savings
As one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, vehicle operators are coming under increasing pressure to react. Most recently, the Government introduced the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act 2007, requiring some businesses to begin collecting mandatory information about their greenhouse gas emissions and their production and consumption of energy.

While not all organisations will be required to report on their carbon emissions, these legislative changes are forcing organisations to start looking seriously at how they can reduce the impact on the environment. As the general public moves to a higher level of green awareness and therefore places increasing demands on their suppliers’ environmental standards, climate change response programs are becoming more and more of a differentiator for businesses. Large and small businesses alike are all looking at ways to be better corporate environmental citizens.

For many businesses, the management and financing of their fleets is a critical element in addressing the issue of sustainability in their organisations. The vehicle fleet is usually one of the top three sources of carbon in a company’s carbon footprint. By matching the fleet mix to their particular requirements at any given time, companies can optimise their resources, limit waste and reduce their environmental impact.
Programs such as Custom Fleet’s Drive Lightly initiative can help organisations reduce their fleet’s carbon emissions. Drive Lightly measures a company’s carbon emissions, looks at ways to reduce those emissions and offers carbon offsets as a way of further reducing the carbon footprint created through the use of a company’s fleet. The program also gives organisations access to driver training to educate people on techniques to improve fuel efficiency and encourage driver safety. These techniques do not necessarily mean taking drastic measures – they can be as simple as the following ideas:

• If possible, plan your route. By organising your day you can reduce the amount of kilometres you travel.
• Smooth acceleration and braking reduces the revving of your engine, increasing the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
• Do not leave your engine running when parked for extended periods. Most late model cars do not need to be warmed up before you begin driving.
• Avoid harsh acceleration when towing – heavy loads increase your fuel usage.
• For low speeds, switching off your air conditioning and opening your windows or sunroof can save fuel. For high speeds, turning on the air conditioning and closing your windows or sunroof can be a better option as it reduces the drag on your vehicle.
• Remove items such as golf clubs and tools that are not being used to reduce the weight the vehicle is carrying.
• Maintain correct tyre pressure to help reduce drag or rolling resistance.
• When carrying items in utes, trailers and on roof racks, cover your load. This helps increase the aerodynamics of your vehicle, reducing your rolling resistance and, in turn, your fuel consumption and emissions.
• Window tinting reduces the amount of heat entering the vehicle, reducing the need to switch on the air conditioning. The use of window shades while parked is also an effective way to reduce the temperature inside your vehicle.

Keep fuel economy in mind when selecting your fleet vehicles, too. There are a whole host of fuel efficient cars out there which suit your employees’ needs just as well as a gas guzzler, but without the level of carbon emissions. Programs like Drive Lightly offer a vehicle selector tool which helps organisations choose cars based on elements such as fuel consumption, environmental impact and whole-of-life cost.

In the end, an environmentally friendly approach is one of the most effective ways to not only reduce your fleet’s carbon emissions, but actually save time and money as well.

-Neil McKay is General Manager, Custom Fleet and Equipment Finance, GE Commercial Finance (www.customfleet.com.au)