Going green – it’s more than EVs

Congratulations if you’ve ordered an electric car in 2022 – not only are we sure you will love it, but you are among a growing number of drivers that have switched to zero-emission motoring.

To demonstrate the welcome change in attitude towards EVs, In the first quarter of 2022, 30% of all new orders at Fleet Alliance were for EVs. That’s the highest we have recorded. Ever.

But we don’t think it will end there. We expect electric vehicle growth to continue as more customers realise the environmental and tax benefits of electric cars, whether through company car schemes or salary sacrifice offerings.

That’s important to us and the environment. Fleet Alliance is a member of EV100, a group of businesses – many of them multinationals – whose aim is to decarbonise operations. As a member, we are planning to electrify our managed fleet of more than 30,000 vehicles by 2030. With our Q1 results, we feel that commitment is being strongly met.

But we’re looking to go beyond that and dig deeper into our operations, dovetailing our EV100 membership with a plan to become net zero as a business by 2030 too.

To do this we are partnering with the Eco3 Partnership to understand how we can take positive action to reduce the carbon footprint of our business.

An initial carbon audit showed we were producing 0.98 tonnes of carbon per person. Switching our own company car fleet to electric was completed last year as one of the many steps – some big, some small – to lowering our carbon footprint.

Other tasks completed include switching the office lighting to low power LED units, while our regional office in East Sussex has moved to new premises with significantly better energy-efficient heating to replace the oil heating at our old building.

Other changes include encouraging staff to choose electric cars if they commute to work or to use active commuting – such as cycling and walking – to improve physical and mental health, as well as reducing our environmental impact. Hybrid working can also play a role in this.

Meanwhile, the installation of a smart cloud-based energy and carbon monitoring system allows us to monitor and manage our portfolio of energy-consuming assets – buildings, processes and transport – which provides us with a clearer picture of where consumption is highest and what actions can be taken to reduce our carbon impact.

So like our fleet of 30,000 vehicles, we are well on the way to becoming carbon neutral. As more fleets mirror our move to a fully electric fleet, that will help. But often small – seemingly insignificant actions – mount up to help the overall goal.

So whether it’s switching our heating to 100% renewables, or members of staff starting to commute to work by foot, it all helps towards the goal of carbon neutrality for our business. It’s about changing behaviours. One green step at a time.