Companies spending £1000 a year per vehicle to implement 'green' policies

The independent organisation’s latest report, ‘Behind the Wheel: understanding the business case for greener company car fleets’, chronicles an alarming indifference to cleaning up the environment, despite organisations saying they have a corporate social responsibility policy.

The 20-page guide outlines the case for ‘greener’ company car fleets and concludes that a business operating a 100-vehicle fleet could save up to £90,000 per year by operating ‘greener’ fleet policies.

Based on interviews with 231 fleet managers at companies with annual turnover ranging from £1 million to £20 million the report reveals that:
• Many companies believe there are insufficient savings to be made by running ‘greener’ cars, so have no plans to do so
• About a third of companies think it will cost money to introduce a ‘greener’ fleet - yet almost two-thirds of companies that have taken steps to reduce emissions have saved cash as a result
• Environmental concerns are low down the list of priorities when compiling a company car choice list
• Relatively few companies allow employees to choose smaller or ‘greener’ cars - of the companies that do permit ‘greener’ vehicles, only a small proportion incentivise their employees to choose smaller or ‘greener’ cars
• Less than half of companies that have a corporate social responsibility or environmental policy consider the impact of their vehicles on the environment
• When companies provide a cash alternative to company cars, they are largely unconcerned about the environmental impact of the vehicles driven on company business
• Car choice is often more about status and remuneration than concerns about the environment
• A cultural change is required, so that ‘green’ cars become more desirable than large high-status vehicles.

The report has been published against a Government-led landscape designed to encourage the take-up of low emission vehicles. Capital allowances, benefit-in-kind tax, Vehicle Excise Duty, the London congestion charge and residents’-only parking schemes all either have, or soon will have, a significant ‘green’ tinge to them and all bring cash savings on low emission cars.

Calling for companies to improve their ‘green’ credentials, the report says: “Even for those companies that are seemingly committed to the environment, more often than not they do not think about the impact of the cars they run.

“For far too many companies, corporate social responsibility appears to be a box to tick, rather than a fundamental assessment of their impact on the environment. The reality is that the effect of company cars is considered in only a minority of businesses.

“Work must be done with businesses to change the perception, and make clear the financial as well as environmental argument for greener fleet management.”REnault