Triton Construction votes EV salary sacrifice scheme with Fleet Alliance a ‘great success’ after huge drop in CO2

Driving Down Emissions with EV Salary Sacrifice

A West Yorkshire building contractor has voted an EV salary sacrifice car scheme from Fleet Alliance a ‘great success’ after it brought a huge drop in average CO2 emissions per vehicle and opened up wider car ownership for its employees.

Triton Construction (Triton), based in Hightown, Liversedge, West Yorkshire, implemented an EV salary sacrifice scheme with Fleet Alliance Appointed Representative (AR),  Michael Hooper, in October 2023 with the aim of cutting its carbon emissions and bringing in electric EVs and plug-in hybrids for its 70 employee-owners.

Significant Reduction in CO2 Emissions

Thirty months on, and the average CO2 per vehicle has dropped from 117g/km CO2 to just 25g/km, reducing tailpipe emissions by around 78%.

Based on an average annual mileage of 20,000 miles per vehicle, total fleet carbon emissions have now fallen from around 94 tonnes of CO2 to around 20 tonnes per year, a reduction of 74 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Triton, which specialises in both private and public sector and civil engineering projects valued between £0.5m and £15 million, is an Employee Owned Trust with all employees having a share, and a say, in the running of the business.

The vast majority receive cash allowances, following the closure of the previous company car scheme, and are able to take advantage of the salary sacrifice scheme with access to a wide range of manufacturers.

Strong Employee Uptake of Electric Vehicles

So far there has been 75% take-up of electric cars from a range of manufacturers including Polestar, Ford, VW, BMW, Volvo, Toyota. Plug-in hybrids have come from Jaecoo and VW.

Employees have been encouraged to participate in the scheme by the low rates of Benefit-in-Kind taxation and zero emissions, and have been given peace of mind by early termination insurance which is built into the monthly lease rates, because of the transitory nature of the construction industry.

Supporting ESG and Net Zero Ambitions

Managing director, Paul Clarkson, said the resultant reduction in CO2 emissions had been very impressive and fitted in perfectly with the company’s ESG (Environmental Social Governance) ambitions and its Net Zero objectives.

“The reduction in our average CO2 emissions per vehicle is great news. And, as well as tackling tailpipe emissions, we have installed new air-sourced heating powered by solar panels to generate our own electricity and low voltage lighting throughout to help us move towards a Net Zero carbon environment,” he said.

Another key feature of Triton’s switch to electric has been the installation of EV chargers for employees to use while in work, with seven in the head office car park and a further four at the North West regional office in Birchwood, Warrington.

The company also provides electric fuel cards and offers an interest-free loan for the installation of home charges for all employees.

“I have personally bought into our EV salary sacrifice scheme and have just taken delivery of a zero emission Porsche Macan Electric, which I probably would not have ordered if the scheme had not been in place, “added Paul Clarkson.

Powered by Fleet Alliance’s e-Fleet Platform

The Triton fleet is managed through Fleet Alliance’s proprietary cloud-based fleet management and reporting platform, e-Fleet, which helps manage every aspect of the fleet in real time, regardless of funder or fleet provider.

Drivers can research, compare and order their next vehicle directly from an associated app, and can source vehicles specific to their current grade or salary bracket while checking specification, Benefit-in-Kind and whole life cost.

e-Fleet also provides convenient and accurate mileage recording to allow fleet managers to closely monitor accumulating mileages and produce predictive mileage reports for all vehicles.

“We have found e-Fleet to be an efficient, easy-to use platform that I would not have any reservations about recommending to others,” added Paul Clarkson.

Delivering Value Through Salary Sacrifice

Fleet Alliance AR Michael Hooper said that Triton was seeing the real benefits of the salary sacrifice scheme, with greater choice for employees at more attractive rates plus assistance in meeting environmental goals for the business.

“Our scheme is a great way to offer an electric car at no extra cost to the business, including as it does all service, maintenance and breakdown costs.

“At the same time, it encourages staff to make the transition to electric cars and, as we have seen from the CO2 figures, helps reduce the corporate carbon footprint while assisting the business in meeting its ESG agenda.

“The order process for all employees is simplified via the use of e-Fleet, which provides an overview of EVs in the marketplace in addition to indicative costings.

“Our approach is always to keep lease rentals costs as low as possible so, to that end, we competitively tender each new vehicle via a panel of up to eight funders to ensure we provide the most attractive rates,” he added.