Background Information
Within GHG reporting and carbon accounting, emissions from motor vehicles are split into two categories: Direct emissions from vehicles owned or controlled by your business and indirect emissions from vehicles not owned or controlled by your business. This article focuses on direct emissions from vehicles owned or controlled by your business. Emissions in this category come from any form of transportation (of materials, product, waste and employees) where a business purchases the fuel itself, ranging from scooters to private jets.
Check out our articles on Business Travel and Employee Commuting and Homeworking for actions you can take to reduce indirect emissions from vehicles not owned or controlled by your business.
What can my business do to reduce carbon emissions from this category?
The most effective method for reducing carbon emissions within this category is to develop a sustainable transport policy. Most forms of transportation by motor vehicle have an alternative with lower emissions. For example, the combination of ship and rail would create lower emissions than transporting the same item via plane and truck. Cars and small vans can be electric rather than diesel or petrol.
Many businesses have a young vehicle fleet, and there can be cost barriers to switching to electric vehicles in the short term. If this applies to your business, encourage actions that reduce fuel consumption within your fleet, until such time you can replace these vehicles.
Action | Detail |
Implement a sustainable transport policy | Start with the question 'Is there a need for travel or transportation?' If there is a requirement for travel or motorised transportation, there should be a clear hierarchy of options for travel or transportation, with walking or cycling being the most sustainable option, and air travel or transportation being the least. |
Switch to electric vehicles | Switching to electric vehicles significantly reduces carbon emissions and reduces your costs. In the UK, zero emissions electric vehicles do not pay any road tax and avoid congestion charges in certain cities. You can also install EV charging points at the workplace. |
Implement a sustainable procurement policy | Set out purchasing rules that ensure the lowest carbon option is procured, and favour electric or energy efficient vehicles, along with technologies that improve operational performance, promote fair social policies and save costs. |
Install a telematics system | Installing a telematics system helps you monitor how your vehicles are being used, understand the vehicle's mileage and impact on the environment and minimise costs. This information can be used to put in place mileage reduction targets for your drivers. |
Driver training | The way a vehicle is driven has an impact on its fuel consumption. Using techniques such as shifting up early to a higher gear, sitting in neutral to switch the engine off at a stop light, opening windows instead of using air conditioning or lightening loads all make an impact on fuel performance. There are several courses available to effectively learn these techniques. |
Service vehicles regularly | Servicing vehicles regularly ensures optimum performance and that parts designed to monitor and reduce emission are working as they should. Regular engine servicing can improve fuel consumption by 4-12%. Regularly checking tyre pressure will also improve fuel efficiency. |
Useful Resources
Source: Energy Saving Trust
Sage Earth view: This guide is bigger than it first appears, take your time looking over the resources and finding the area most applicable to your business needs. The Fleet Management Toolkit aims to reduce both costs & emissions, what’s not to love about that?
Area of GHG Protocol
Scope 1.4. Transportation of materials, product, waste, and employees
🌍 Not every action suggested in this article will fit every business. Some can be implemented with relative ease, while others will require more time and investment. It's important to note that it may take some time to see a visible reduction in your reported emissions as a result of taking these actions (and that some will have a greater impact than others).
All additional resources suggested within this article are created and maintained by independent third parties. Sage Earth is not responsible for the content of any third party resources.