The mobility of people and goods is a key element of any business, but the way your organisation uses transport can also offer opportunities to improve your environmental performance and reduce costs. In addition to potential financial savings, you can use your ‘green’ fingers as a marketing tool for your business.
This guide provides advice on how to choose and use greener methods of transport and comply with legal requirements.
The benefits of reducing environmental impact from business transport
There are wide-ranging benefits to reducing the environmental impact of your business transport.
Improve your business' image Reducing your environmental impact can help to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and improve the image of your business.
With a growing awareness of environmental issues, customers, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly concerned about dealing with businesses that have good environmental credentials. Having a green fleet policy in place can also help with winning contracts. When you tender for business, always include information about your environmental policies as this is likely to be viewed positively.
Make financial savings
By using vehicles more efficiently you can make significant financial savings through reduced fuel costs and less wear and tear. The Energy Saving Trust suggests that a business with a fleet of 100 vehicles could save up to £90,000 a year by implementing green fleet policies.
You could make further financial savings from more cost-effective use of your employees' time and by unlocking the potential of land previously used for parking.
Investing in greener transport methods may also make you eligible for enhanced capital allowances and other tax breaks. See the page in this guide on tax breaks for low-emission vehicles.
Comply with vehicle emissions legislation
Reducing your environmental impact can help to ensure you comply with vehicle emissions legislation.
Employee benefits
Educating your employees about the environmental impacts of transport and encouraging them to walk cycle or use public transport for commuting and business travel can benefit their health and finances. It may also have a knock-on effect by reducing sickness absence and increasing staff retention. This also contributes to improving local air quality.
A workplace travel plan can be a cost-effective way for you to put these policies in place.
Promoting car sharing
Car sharing is a viable option even for the most isolated businesses. Where employees live in rural locations, there are usually groups of employees living within easy reach of each other. A useful tool in matching colleagues is to create a car sharing database. This can be linked through to the Car plus website, which has details of car sharing schemes across the UK, allowing employees to match up with those who start journeys outside the company catchments area.
Driving work vehicles efficiently
Your business can benefit in a number of ways from using vehicles in a safer and more fuel-efficient manner. Safer driving means fewer injuries and fatalities, less accident damage to vehicles, less unproductive downtime for vehicle repair and the potential for reduced insurance premiums. Fuel-efficient driving means lower costs, improved profit margins and reduced emissions.
Developing and implementing driving for work policies, addressing training requirements and ensuring that vehicles are maintained appropriately can help you to realise these benefits and manage the risks associated with using vehicles.
You and your employees can do a number of basic things to use fuel efficiently. These include:
Making sure that all vehicles have their tyres pumped up to the correct pressure;
Removing any unnecessary clutter from vehicles;
Reducing vehicle speed;
Avoiding harsh braking and acceleration;
Switching off the engine when at a standstill for more than three minutes.
Tax breaks for low-emission vehicles
The government is keen to encourage the purchase and use of environmentally friendly vehicles, which means that businesses can benefit from buying cars with low-carbon emissions;
For example, you may be able to write off the cost of purchasing such vehicles against your taxable profits through capital allowances. Some models, including electric and hybrid vehicles, are eligible for enhanced capital allowances;
Vehicle excise duty for new cars is calculated according to its carbon dioxide emissions, with the most polluting cars paying the highest rate;
Company car tax is also based on a car's carbon dioxide emissions. The lower the emissions, the lower the personal tax paid by the driver;
You may also be able to claim road-pricing concessions for low-emission vehicles in local authorities where such schemes exist. For example, drivers of electric vehicles and hybrids do not have to pay the London congestion charge. Lorries, buses and vans that have low emissions will also avoid paying charges in some areas, for instance in London's Low Emission Zone.
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