Having a sustainable procurement and fleet policy (and adhering to it) is a safe bet for any type of organization. The progress of vehicle technology, of the different systems we use to communicate and the development of fleet management all offer the opportunity to run sustainable and responsible fleets that operate in a cleaner way nowadays, with improved use of vehicles and a consequent reduction of congestion, emissions and fuel.
Committing to sustainability is also a fantastic chance to publicise your wish to take environmental responsibilities seriously, by helping to tackle air quality and climate change, and this consequently enhances your reputation. For companies belonging to the public sector it can even be seen as an imperative, as detailed in the European Criteria for Green Public Procurement Criteria.
Before working on a draft for a sustainable procurement and fleet policy, companies should consider goals, do some research and establish appropriate actions to ensure their sustainability targets can be converted into reality and help minimise the impact on the global environment and reduce traffic—ultimately for the benefit of their business, but also in order to spend more wisely on resources.
What then are some of the points that need to be considered in a sustainable procurement and fleet policy?
Here we detail some of them:
#1 – Consider actions aimed at reducing fuel consumption. There are different strategies to consider in order to reach this goal, like replacing vehicles with more efficient substitutes, looking into alternative fuels, reducing idling, reducing mileage, improving driver habits, adopting planning tools able to set a goal for fuel consumption reduction.
#2 – Working on rightsizing. Determine whether every unit is necessary to the fleet. Are there any gas guzzlers that you could reasonably replace with more efficient models? Make a plan for rightsizing the fleet imminently and down the line
#3 - Set purchasing rules. Think about purchasing rules that favour efficient vehicles, technologies that improve operational performance, cost savings and fair social policies.
#4 – Create an incentive program for greener driving. Measure driver performance on the basis of sustainability, low fuel consumption and efficiency targets, plan proper training in order to improve in these areas and encourage drivers to follow the example of the best performers.
#5 - Use telematics as a fleet intelligence tool. Telematics and fleet management solutions can help identify ways for fleets to take measures which reduce spend, fuel consumption and emissions.
