GreenFleet

Many manufacturers and fleet managers have whole-heartedly taken on the challenge to combat climate change with pioneering ways to reduce the carbon output of their fleet.     

Applauding the success of such pioneering environmental fleet management, the Greenfleet Awards took place on 1 October at London’s spectacular Guildhall. Presented by motoring journalist and Fifth Gear presenter Tiff Needell, the 23 awards were given out to deserving public and private sector fleet organisations for their efforts in environmental fleet management and low carbon motoring.

During the day, visitors were kept engaged by the G-Factor conference where keynotes from both the public and private sectors shared their views on the industry.

In addition, an indoor and outdoor exhibition took place throughout the day. Many car manufacturers  showcased their offering of low carbon vehicles in the outdoor exhibition, including Allied ZEV, Peugeot and Toyota.

Going electric
The Electric Vehicle of the Year award, which was sponsored by EDF Energy, went to the Mitsubishi iMiEV. Mitsubishi has been developing electric vehicles over the last 40 years, and in 2006 came up with the all-electric Mitsubishi iMiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle). Full production started in July, with 50 of the first vehicles already destined for UK roads.
    
The iMiEV is a fully electric city car with zero emissions. It can comfortably seat four adults with room for luggage. It has a top speed of 87 mph, a range of 100 miles and can be trickle charged from flat to full in six hours at any UK three-pin socket. It only costs 96p for a full charge, and the iMiEV can be fast-charged from flat to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.
    
The iMiEV has created a much more positive attitude regarding the future of electric vehicles. It has also dispelled all the old myths that electric vehicles demand compromise, as it features electric windows, a CD player and air conditioning.
    
In November 2009, the iMiEV will be the first 4-seat fully electric vehicle produced by a mainstream manufacturer to arrive in the UK. It is going to play a major role in the government’s recently announced Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator projects.

Urban driving
The winner of City Car of the Year was the Fiat 500 (Start&Stop Dualogic). The new Fiat 500, launched in 2007, was inspired by the model of the same name that was built from 1957-1975, and provided affordable transport in many parts of the world. The 2009 model, featuring a 1.2 litre petrol engine, benefits from several enhancements that make it even more efficient and less polluting.
    
Fiat’s Start&Stop benefits from the combined expertise of automotive parts specialist Bosch and Fiat Powertrain Technologies.    
    
Dualogic cars have a 5 speed manual gearbox which shifts automatically. This is advantageous to city drivers having only two pedals, making for an easier life in the urban environment.
    
eco:Drive allows drivers to gain better insight into how their driving style influences their consumption and emission of pollutants. It comes as a software application that can be installed on your computer. As you are driving your car, eco:Drive processes in all the information relating to the vehicle’s efficiency and your driving characteristics. The data is tranferred via a USB key to be read on a computer. Fiat claims that sixty thousand people have downloaded eco:Drive in less than a year since its launch, and 25,000 are using it daily to monitor their driving styles.
    
Driver training
DriveSense, the driver training arm of the Osbourne Purdie Group, took home the award the Driver Training Company of the Year. The company has been working with the government’s ACT ON CO2 campaign to deliver smarter driving courses as part of the ‘People Power’ challenge. This encouraged ten households in Birmingham, Newcastle and Portsmouth to reduce their energy usage with the help of energy saving experts. As part of the challenge, 12 of the participants received a 50 minute lesson by DriveSense to learn new ‘smarter driving’ techniques. During the lesson the average fuel saving achieved by participants was 20.5 per cent – equivalent to saving over two month’s fuel in a year.
    
In August this year, it was announced that DriveSense has won a major contract with the Energy Saving Trust to deliver the ‘Smarter Driving’ programme, aimed at delivering 26,000 lessons to company employees of any business by April 2010.
    
Sponsored by Civica, Alan Hocking from Humberside Police took home the award for Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year. Alan has been largely responsible for saving Humberside Police £250,000 on fuel each year.
    
Private Sector Fleet Manager of the Year, sponsored by VOLVO, went to Robert Paddock from the Commercial Group. Robert was responsible for developing a detailed fuel and mileage monitoring system. Through this and other measures, a staggering 52 per cent reduction in CO2 over the last two years has been achieved.

Alternative fuels
The winner of the Alternative Fuel Supplier of the Year award was Autogas Limited. There are already more than 12 million autogas-fuelled vehicles in operation around the world, including over 150,000 in the UK. Although not a renewable fuel, LPG continues to offer a tried and tested way for fleets to lower emissions and save money.
   
European tests carried out in 2004 confirmed that LPG vehicles produce 17 per cent less carbon dioxide than petrol and two per cent less than diesel, considering well to wheel Common Artemis Drive Cycle (CADC).
   
Autogas Limited operates the most comprehensive LPG forecourt network in the UK, with over 215 service stations nationwide, and a further 15 sites planned for the next 18 months. Committed to ensuring the profitability of every installation, the company is actively involved in raising the profile of automotive LPG at all levels – government, vehicle manufacturer, fleet operator, driver and through direct contact with the media.
   
A valid concern about LPG has been lack of availability at filling stations. To help combat this, Autogas has developed POI (point of interest) files for Navman, Garmin and TomTom Satellite Navigation systems. Once downloaded and installed to a Sat Nav unit, drivers can find their nearest Autogas Limited site wherever they are in the country.

Success in Europe
Looking overseas, the European Fleet of the Year Award went to the City of Malmö in Sweden. Through its CIVITAS SMILE project, 365 new clean vehicles were introduced to the municipal car fleet which employees used for work rather than their own private cars.
   
The vehicles are clearly marked as environmental vehicles and highly visible during daytime traffic in Malmö.
   
CIVITAS SMILE started in 2005 and ended this year, with a total budget of E34 million. The success of its ‘demonstrator effect’ is helping to change perceptions of environmentally friendly vehicle use in Sweden and across Europe. The City of Malmö also works with neighbouring cities as well as government organisations to encourage the use of clean cars.
   
CMS SupaTrak celebrated success, taking home the IT innovation award. CMS has launched EcoTrak, a driver management tool which allows fleet managers to monitor and manage their drivers’ behaviours in real time, using CANbus technology.
   
By identifying drivers who practice less efficient driving behaviours in certain areas, fleet managers can implement remedial training where necessary and re-educate these drivers to modify their performance. As a result, fuel costs and CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.

Leaders in LCVs
LCV Manufacturer of the Year was awarded to Citroen. The new Department for Transport/SMMT Van CO2 database shows Citroen LCVs as having impressive range-wide fuel economy figures and low CO2 emissions.
   
Nemo, at 84.06mpg, is the UK’s most fuel efficient van, and leads the field for vans carrying over 600kg with a CO2 figure of just 116g/km. New Berlingo, with CO2 emissions from153g/km, is significantly better than most other vans in its class. Emissions on the Dispatch start from 191g/km and the Relay also sets the pace with CO2 emissions from 208g/km – ahead of the market leaders in the large van sector.
   
In 2009 Citroën expanded its range of Dual Fuel (petrol/LPG) vans, adding the Dual Fuel Dispatch to Nemo, Berlingo First and Berlingo models. All current diesel-engined Citroën LCVs can also run on up to 30 per cent biodiesel without modification.
   
LGV Manufacturer of the Year was awarded to Volvo Trucks. A 2009 Volvo truck is 100 times cleaner in terms of engine emissions than one from only 20 years ago. At the same time as exhaust emissions have dropped significantly, Volvo trucks fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 20 per cent. The company aims to continue this trend by cutting fuel consumption by at least one per cent per year on average.
   
To that end, the Volvo D13 and D11 litre Euro 5 emission compliant engines are also available in versions which meet the even lower particulate and smoke emission levels specified in the Enhanced Environmentally friendly Vehicle (EEV) standards, a voluntary framework applied by local authorities to speed up the introduction of low carbon vehicles.

Leasing excellence
Leasing Company of the Year was awarded to LeasePlan UK. The company works with some of the largest and most prestigious fleets in the country, and strives to deliver genuine answers to some of today’s most critical business problems.
   
GreenPlan was globally introduced in 2007 and is based on a range of established principles, including offsetting vehicle emissions, careful selection of vehicles and fuel, scheduled servicing and maintenance, professional driver training and improved journey planning. Developed as a global initiative, verified by TüV Rheinland Group and supported by Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE), GreenPlan reflects LeasePlan’s belief that companies can play a vital role in the reduction of CO2 emissions.
   
Partner company CO2OL, analyses fleet profiles and calculates the precise forest cover necessary to absorb the CO2 it produces. Forestry specialists Futuro Forestal then plant the corresponding number of trees in deforested areas of the Panamanian rainforests.
   
LeasePlan this year announced their partnership with Renault-Nissan in an initiative bringing electric mobility to the global markets. The two parties will study ways to promote the use of electric vehicles, and will investigate the options for a commercial approach towards corporate fleet customers.

Green Motion won Rental Company of the Year for its work to ensure that the principle activities of its business have the lowest possible impact on the environment.

Double success
BMW had much reason to celebrate, taking home awards for both Fleet Car Manufacturer of the Year and the Industry Innovation Award, sponsored by Modul-System. Since 2000 BMW Group has invested more than £1 billion in its UK operations. As well as a total contribution to UK GDP of over £2.5 billion and 55,000 jobs supported, the company is working hard to limit the operations environmental impact, and is committed to dealing with resources in a sustainable and responsible manner.
   
All manufacturing plants are certified to environmental standards ISO14001. For the fourth year in a row BMW leads its sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and independent research by www.cleangreencars.co.uk found BMW to have the lowest average CO2 emissions of any premium car maker for the second year in a row, with BMW at 159.36g/km and MINI at 131.43g/km.
   
EfficientDynamics is BMW’s approach to reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions. Intelligent Lightweight Engineering, refined aerodynamic design, highly efficient engines with innovative fuel injection technology and modern energy management systems – such as Auto Start-Stop and Brake Energy Regeneration – all combine to form the EfficientDynamics philosophy, which features in every new BMW and MINI.
   
Celebrating innovation
The Fleet Innovation Award was won by Commercial Group. The company has reduced its audited fleet emissions by a staggering 29 per cent, and with the help of a dynamic routing system, has removed 140,000 miles from its total fleet distance.
   
The biodiesel system has been upgraded to use a realtime blending pump that allows any diesel vehicle to run on the optimum fuel blend. This pump integrates with the fuel management system for better analysis of vehicle efficiency, and can provide a reduction of up to 90 per cent in audited emissions.
   
The company reports an annual carbon footprint audited by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM) to Business in the Community (BITC) as part of the Prince of Wales May Day Network. In 2009 Commercial rolled out its first Smart ED, which is being used by founding director Simone Mann. Powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity, this car is projected to remove 1.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
   
London Freight Operator of the Year, sponsored by TfL FORS, was awarded to Hanson Cement (formerly Castle Cement). Hanson Cement has worked hard to reduce its carbon footprint within both production and distribution. As well as using LPG vehicles, it operates a rigorous training policy and uses fuel monitoring technology to keep costs low.
   
The Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Enterprise Rent-a-Car was presented to Calvey Taylor-Haw of Elektromotive for his pioneering work to bring Electric Vehicle infrastructure to the UK.
   
Calvey founded Elektromotive in 2003 to design and implement an EV recharging infrastructure into the UK. Successfully running a pilot project in London for Westminster City Council, the company is seen as a market leader in this sector. 
   
Thanks to Calvey Taylor-Haw, Elektromotive expects further growth in 2010 through its involvement in a number of government-backed schemes.
   
Green Motoring Journalist of the Year, sponsored by Rockingham, was awarded to Paul Lucas from thegreencarwebsite.co.uk. The website brings together all the cars in the UK that have CO2 emissions lower than 150 g/km. Its content editor does a fantastic job of organising a wealth of articles and other information into easy to follow sections.

Breakdown and recovery
Breakdown/Recovery Company of the Year was awarded to ETA. The company was established in 1990 as an ethical, alternative motoring organisation and sustainable travel lobby group. It offsets carbon emissions by investing only in gold-standard projects with strong sustainable development credentials.
   
The ETA is a founder member of the Slower Speeds Initiative, which seeks to improve quality of life by reducing traffic speeds and road danger. In 1992, it started Green Transport Week, which aims to demonstrate how to reduce car dependency, and is held each June. Also pioneered by the ETA is European Car Free Day (or In Town Without My Car!) - an international festival of environmentally sensitive transport which takes place on September 22nd.
     
ETA’s activities, along with its offsetting schemes, are mainly funded by the revenue from its services, which include Europe-wide breakdown cover, already rated as the greenest on the market by Ethical Consumer magazine. It features a network of over 1700 repair and recovery agents and has an 80 per cent success rate of fixing vehicles roadside. It even became the first organisation to introduce road recovery for cyclists, and has demonstrated further innovation by including a green route finder on its website, which shows the  carbon emissions for the route and offers the user the chance to offset them.
   
Sponsored by Garmin, the Private Sector Fleet of the Year for over 500 vehicles was TNT. In May 2008, TNT announced it was investing £7m in 100 Newton vehicles – giving the company the largest zero emission electric fleet of delivery vehicles in the world.
   
The Private Sector Fleet of the Year Award for below 500 vehicles, which was sponsored by TomTom WORK, was won by DHL TradeTeam. Continued Driver Training programmes and defensive driving initiatives at TradeTeam have increased fuel efficiency and reduced emissions by ten per cent.
   
Public Sector Fleet of the Year award for under 500 vehicles, sponsored by CALOR Autogas, went to Gateshead Council. The Council has reduced its fleet annual mileage by 62,000 miles between 2007 and 2008. Measures included limiting the speed of all new vehicles, the purchase of ‘low rolling resistance’ tyres and a CO2 cap when procuring new vehicles.
   
The Public Sector Fleet of the Year Award for over 500 vehicles, sponsored by O2, was taken home by Essex County Council. Essex CC’s drivers are trained to SAFED standards, and are monitored by telematics. Car sharing and teleconferencing are encouraged to reduce business mileage. Together with the procurement of lower emission vehicles, is estimating impressive CO2 reductions for the next two years.