From my vantage point at Fleet Alliance, looking down from my (relatively new) office surroundings onto the climate conference hosted in Glasgow at the SEC, I’ve been watching the comings and goings and I can’t help reflect that there have been a lot of cars, most of which are unlikely to be electric or even hybrid.

Of course, I understand that the dignitaries need to be ferried backwards and forwards to the conference and that security is absolutely vital.

But it all seems slightly at odds with the conference and its aims; the difference between green words and brown actions.

Take, for example, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson who private jetted off back home once he was no longer needed. Surely, taking the train – but some four hours from Glasgow to London – would have been a more climate friendly method of transport?

It’s an uncomfortable discord between the rhetoric and the execution of action. How should we judge this? What should we make of it?

I think we should be careful in reaching any definitive conclusions. We are unaware of all the circumstances, however at variance they may seem with the conference’s ambitions. Certainly, from a PR perspective, it’s not a good look. But we have to remember that the COP26 conference is about changing outlooks, making nations work together towards the common goal of harnessing climate change to within 1.5 degrees.

Perhaps what’s more critical is to consider our own actions, our personal choices against a backdrop of global warming. What’s the right action? How can I mitigate global warming escalation?

Small choices, subtle changes, a reconsideration of habits. They all count in the challenge to limit rising temperatures.

We have become more critically aware of our actions at Fleet Alliance. And from initial actions taken years ago – such as moving the Fleet Alliance fleet to hybrid and now to full electric – it’s a process. It’s not about the big gesture (although it helps if you can do that of course!), but about understanding how actions can influence the lessening of global warming.

It’s about helping our customers make a similar transition to zero emission fleets, understanding their ambitions, setting the processes in motion, and starting the change to zero. It’s part of our aim to ensure our 30,000 fleet is zero emission by 2030. It’s a big ambition.

Much like the COP26 programme.

But setting the agenda, recognising the ambition, and then undertaking the process to reach those goals surely must be the aim of all businesses, all enterprises, each person.

It’s a global responsibility. And as part of COP26 and its crucial ambitions, we are playing our part, however small that may be in the significant decarbonisation issues the world faces, to help the change to net zero.

In the end, it’s the only game in town.

Is there too much hot air at COP26?

From my vantage point at Fleet Alliance, looking down from my (relatively new) office surroundings onto the climate conference hosted in Glasgow at the SEC, I’ve been watching the comings and goings and I can’t help reflect that there have been a lot of cars, most of which are unlikely to be electric or even … Continued

Rod Hallworth

Fleet Alliance is saddened to announce the sudden death of Rod Hallworth, managing director of long-established and hugely respected broker Anthony K. Anthony K had recently become an Appointed Representative of Fleet Alliance, cementing a close relationship that stretched back over 20 years of trading as a Fleet Alliance Partner. With founder Tony Nugent stepping … Continued

Work-related road risk comes back into focus

What’s your key takeaway from the pandemic? What has changed significantly in your life as a result of COVID-19? And what’s altered in the way you approach your personal and business lives? Looking back there’s the rise of flexi working which has been key to many companies riding out the pandemic. But there has also … Continued

Six fleet cars of the future

In my last blog – Green – what does it mean? – I talked about the issue of mobility and how it will relate to fleets in the future. Over in Germany, there’s been an exhibition examining just that. Called IAA Mobility 2021, it was based in Munich and featured everything from the latest in … Continued

Green – what does it mean?

Good news. We’ve been shortlisted in the Green Initiative Award, run by trade title BusinessCar. It’s the first time we have entered the award, so getting on the shortlist is terrific. Step one completed, then; step two – winning, against some stiff opposition – might be more difficult, of course… So I’m very pleased, but … Continued

Making salary sacrifice work for SME company fleets

Salary sacrifice as a method of acquiring vehicles is rising in popularity, as it often does when the taxation environment is beneficial. And at the moment, it’s particularly beneficial for zero-emission vehicles, with benefit in kind rates from 1% and then rising to just 2% until 2024/25 tax year. This rise in popularity was reflected … Continued

Decarbonisation, greenprints and green deals

It appears yesterday was the day marked ‘Decarbonisation Day’. Governments both here and the EU made far-reaching and important statements about the environmental challenge we all face to reach net zero by 2050. In the UK we know the route for car and van fleets has been well-signposted: 2030 sees the ban on new petrol … Continued

We’re going for a deep clean on our journey to sustainability

We’ve made a start on sustainability. But, hey, has it thrown up some difficult questions. Questions that we did not envisage when we began. The start we have made is around our commitment to a managed fleet of zero emissions vehicles by 2030 having joined EV100, the organisation representing businesses globally that have committed to … Continued

The benefits of switching your fleet to panel funding

Rather than rely on single-source funding for reducing fleet administration, there are significant benefits from choosing panel funding through a single supplier approach, which not only provides significant fleet cost savings, but the administrative efficiencies of a single-source fleet management company suggests Rob Wentworth-James, Corporate Sales Director at Fleet Alliance. How does this really work … Continued