Business and commercial transport emissions

As one of the biggest employers in the area and with its key role in community planning, the local authority has a crucial role in influencing the emissions of the business and commercial sectors, both in providing the infrastructure necessary to support more sustainable options and choices, but also in promoting the uptake of alternative modes of transport.

Businesses and other public sector organisations will expect to see the council leading by example in encouraging the shift to more active and sustainable modes; further guidance on how the council can go about this can be found in the other pages in this section. Information on infrastructure provision is also covered.

However, the council should also support local businesses to reduce carbon emissions from travel and transport, as this will help achieve wider council objectives including reducing carbon emissions, reducing congestion, improving air quality and improving health and wellbeing.

Working with local businesses on transport issues can provide the economies of scale needed to agree investment in new infrastructure, such as public transport services or cycle routes, which in themselves lead to emissions reductions.

Influencing local businesses to reduce their transport emissions

To be successful in reducing emissions from business and commercial transport, you should consider implementing the following in your strategy:

Engage with the major transport users in the area

Your Local Strategic Partnership or Community Planning Partnership may already provide the best forum for this, but if not, it would be worth setting up a working group of the major transport users in the area, such as the police, fire and health services, education providers and large businesses. The purpose of this group should be to identify opportunities for larger scale plans such as joint travel plans, communications or marketing campaigns, infrastructure improvements or investment into active travel initiatives.

As well as aiming to achieve wide-scale emissions reductions, this should also act as a boost to support modal shifts and smarter choices by promoting the right messages, and encourage smaller businesses or organisations to follow suit.

This forum should also be used to join up the rest of the local authority strategy by communicating information, advice and opportunities to the wider community, via stakeholders’ activities and initiatives.

Work directly with local schools and businesses to promote travel plans

37% of transport related emissions come from the journey to work and travelling as a part of work. Therefore, working with businesses to help them implement a travel plan will have a significant impact on emissions from commuting and business travel and help to embed sustainable travel choices in peoples’ daily lives.

The aim of a travel plan should be to reduce the numbers of journeys made by car within a given time period and the plan should be the outcome of a review into the potential to achieve this.

Further information on travel planning can be found on the Energy Saving Trust’s website here.

The Department for Transport also has a section dedicated to workplace travel plans where there is further information. Similar information is available for organisations in Scotland on the Choose another way website.

You should also require all schools and educational establishments to implement travel plans. As well as the direct benefits of carbon reductions from minimising unnecessary car journeys, it will play a role in the education and communication of the climate change message and shape the future of sustainable transport.

Encourage local businesses to undertake a Green Fleet Review or carbon footprint

Businesses in your area with more than 50 vehicles in their fleet (or Scottish organisations with more than 20 vehicles) are eligible for a free Green Fleet Review from the Energy Saving Trust. This provides tailored fleet management advice to help lower running and maintenance costs, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve air quality. This could save a business with 100 vehicles more than £90,000 per year. Further information can be found here.

Businesses in Scotland with over 50 employees are also eligible for the Energy Saving Trust’s Travel Plan service.

For smaller fleets the Energy Saving Trust offers free telephone consultancy which can be accessed on 0845 602 1425. Further information can be found here.

Work directly with local businesses to promote smarter driving, low carbon fuels and vehicle choice

The Energy Saving Trust offers subsidised smarter driving lessons for company employees in England as well as information on approaches to grey fleet (private car for business travel) reductions.

Information about low carbon fuels and technology can be found here.

Whatever the size of business, van and HGV drivers can benefit from the Department for Transport’s SAFED training (Safe and Efficient Driving). SAFED training has been shown to improve fuel economy by 10%, whilst also reducing wear and tear on vehicles and increasing drivers’ sense of control over their journey. Details of training providers and costs in England are available here. The same service is also available in Scotland. Find out more here.

Improving driver safety will also reduce the risk of accidents which will have associated impacts on emissions reductions through reducing congestion.

Further information

The Energy Saving Trust produces a monthly online update addressing a key issue in fleet management. You can use these to inform campaigns or activities targeting reductions from fleet emissions.

Produced by Transport for London, but applicable wherever you are, this short guide gives practical and constructive guidance on greening your fleet, from developing a strategy and to taking action.