The Business Benefits of Fleet Sustainability

The environmental benefits are often the focus when people talk about green fleets, but what about the business benefits of sustainability?

It’s more than just a few electric cars — sustainability for fleets encompasses a range of practices that move fleets toward a greener future.

These practices are not only good for the environment, but they make your organization more competitive in a crowded marketplace. Sustainable fleet management requires firms to set benchmarks for reduced emissions and develop strategies for meeting them.

Beyond reducing greenhouse gases, these strategies for fleet sustainability also make good business sense, which is great news for fleet managers. However, they must be empowered with buy-in from leadership and the right technology tools to reach their goals.

Let’s take a closer look at the best practices for sustainable fleet management and the business benefits of sustainability.

Business Benefits of Sustainability

With the ever-fluctuating price of fuel and lower total cost of ownership of some green vehicles, fleet sustainability is more beneficial than ever before.

Transitioning to a sustainable fleet has initial costs that can be off-putting to fleet managers. The higher price tag of some electric vehicles (EVs) and the initial investment in charging infrastructure makes this switch seem less attractive at first. But the longer you own a green automobile, the more savings you can expect.

Let’s examine how fleet sustainability can improve your bottom line.

Reduced Fuel Costs

Fuel is often one of the most significant costs for fleets. If you have a traditional fleet, you have to absorb the cost fluctuations of gas. When you transition to EVs, you can reduce fuel costs and limit the impact of these price fluctuations on your business. The fuel savings contribute to the lower total cost of ownership for some electric vehicles compared to traditional ones.

The U.S. Department of Energy has a vehicle cost calculator that can help you determine the total cost of ownership of most vehicles, including green automobiles. You’ll need to factor in the cost of electricity in your area, which can vary by region. This can help you anticipate the fuel savings you can expect whenever you swap out an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle for an electric one.

What's more, fleet management software can help you calculate your cost per mile and fuel usage for both traditional and green vehicles in your fleet.

Less Fleet Maintenance

ICE vehicles require engine fluid replacements, transmission fluid flushes, and oil changes, and the cost of all this maintenance adds up quickly. You can reduce this large operating expense with EVs.

The only fluid replacements EVs require are windshield washer, coolant, and brake fluid. Over time, the savings on preventive maintenance contribute to its low total cost of ownership. Eventually, you may need to replace the battery pack of an EV. The warranty covers it for the first 100,000 miles, but after that, the replacement cost falls to the fleet.

Improve Your Reputation & Cultivate Brand Loyalty

EV fleets improve your reputation with the public as concerns about climate change grow, and the cost savings that sustainable fleets deliver are popular with business leaders and shareholders. If your company offers a product at the same price point and quality level as other firms, your commitment to sustainability could be the deciding factor. Purpose-driven brands can gain a competitive advantage with consumers.

What Is Fleet Sustainability?

Fleet sustainability aims to reduce the environmental impact of a fleet. The goals of sustainable fleet management are to purchase cleaner vehicles, encourage fuel-efficient driving, and reduce road traffic. Fleet managers monitor operational performance to ensure that the fleet meets these sustainability objectives.

Traditional fleet management focuses solely on the bottom line. It aims to get the maximum value out of every vehicle for the lowest cost.

Both approaches to fleet management prioritize efficient driving, which saves money and limits emissions. As green vehicles and equipment become more affordable and more capable, we can expect to see fewer differences between traditional and sustainable fleet management.

Setting Fleet Sustainability Goals for Your Fleet

Increase Fleet Fuel Efficiency

A key target for any sustainable fleet is to increase fleet fuel efficiency. That may mean purchasing more fuel-efficient EVs, but fleet managers have a range of other strategies available to help meet this goal. They can encourage fuel-efficient driving behaviors, discourage idling, ensure proper vehicle maintenance, and prioritize replacing fuel-inefficient vehicles.

Minimizing Miles Traveled

Reducing the miles your fleet travels is an important sustainability goal for your organization. It helps reduce emissions and fuel costs. GPS and telematics devices can improve scheduling, routing, and vehicle efficiency.

Using Alternative Fuels

EVs and other alternative-fuel vehicles can help you to meet your targets for reducing emissions, but every type of green vehicle has its advantages and disadvantages for fleet owners. For example, some vehicles may help you reduce your emissions, but they may not meet the needs of your business. If a fuel type is unavailable in your area, it’s not feasible either.

With so many types of EVs to choose from, fleet managers are sure to find cost-effective alternative fuel vehicles that help them maximize petroleum reduction.

Right-Sizing Fleets

It’s helpful to assess your fleet and determine which vehicles are most fuel-efficient. Inefficient vehicles should be replaced first with vehicles that consume less fuel. You might also set goals for how quickly you can convert to a sustainable fleet.

If you’re nervous about whether EVs can meet the needs of your operation, purchase a few hybrid vehicles initially to see if they work for your business. This is a relatively low-risk way to start.

Utilization is also part of ensuring your fleet is the right size. Evenly using the vehicles in your fleet can help you operate with fewer vehicles.

Optimize Fleet Sustainability With a Sustainable Fleet Management Strategy

Planning and strategy are central elements of sustainable fleet management. Sustainable fleet managers have to juggle more responsibilities than ever before. They must carefully research, plan, and implement the best practices for their fleets to help achieve their sustainability goals.

Green vehicles can be part of this strategy, but it may also encompass telematics tools, safety initiatives, and other policies for managing staff driving behaviors. Policies for vehicle utilization, maintenance, and replacement may also be part of your strategy. Of course, it should be tailored to the needs of your organization.

3 Tips to Future-Proof Your Fleet

Centralize Your Data

How many software systems is your organization using to track fleet data? In some organizations, you may not even be aware of all the systems in use to track results.

Centralizing this information is crucial. You want to make sure everyone who needs it can easily access it in one easy-to-use location. Data transparency ensures that everyone can access data regardless of personnel. It also saves you the time of tracking down information.

Manage Your Fleet Size

Utilizing vehicles across your fleet evenly and choosing the optimal time for vehicle replacements or new purchases are key for future-proofing your fleet.

You can project when vehicles will be replaced by looking at the vehicle replacement patterns in your fleet’s historical data. Be sure to factor in whether your organization is expanding its fleet operations. Vehicle usage and the frequency of vehicle replacement impact the total cost of ownership of vehicles in your fleet.

Leverage Technology

New technologies can help you make smarter decisions about your fleet’s daily operations. The telematics tools of today use the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence technology to boost fleet performance. The benefits of this technology is significant.

Vehicle telematics puts significant amounts of information about your fleet at your fingertips and allows you to leverage it to make more informed decisions about your fleet. It makes it easier to keep track of the business and environmental benefits of a sustainable fleet.

4 Tips to Decrease Fleet Management Costs

Cut Down Your Fleet

If you can still operate efficiently with fewer vehicles in your fleet, you can save thousands annually for every vehicle you eliminate.

The average total cost of ownership for a single light-duty vehicle is between $5,000 and $8,000 per year. You can expect to see a slight bump in the operating costs of the remaining vehicles in your fleet, but you’ll still see a reduction in your overall fleet operating costs.

Reduce Miles Traveled

Fleet managers have several solutions to reduce the overall mileage of their fleet. Organizations can encourage employees to use telecommunications tools whenever possible to limit travel.

GPS ensures that drivers take the quickest, most fuel-efficient route every time. Additionally, telematics tools monitor fleet vehicles and may discourage employees from misusing vehicles.

Prioritize Safety

Safety is top of mind for any fleet manager. Safety management programs make drivers happier, safer, and more productive, and it’s easier to retain them. This employee retention cuts down on costs.

It’s important for fleet managers to have the full support of their organization’s leaders to implement any safety program effectively. You can also use telematics tools to incentivize drivers to drive safely.

Follow OEM Maintenance Schedules

It’s certainly easy to follow the same preventive maintenance practice for every vehicle. Some fleet managers perform this maintenance every 3,000 miles, but that’s not the most cost-effective practice. The Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM) recommendations are an important resource for fleet managers.

As you calculate the preventive maintenance intervals for a vehicle, it’s important to factor in the type of oil you use in the vehicle and if it operates under what the OEM considers “severe” duty. The owner's manual will let you know if these factors alter the maintenance schedule.

For mixed fleets, the cost savings make it worth the effort to determine the best schedule for every vehicle.

MiX by Powerfleet has can support fleet professionals with a fleet management system that can help you meet your organization’s sustainability benchmarks. This system can help you achieve your targets by:

• Performing a cost-benefit analysis on alternative fuel options
• Helping you make more informed decisions about vehicle acquisition
• Ensuring vehicles are properly maintained
• Reducing fuel consumption

As your partners in sustainable fleet management, we’re here to help you meet your environmental and business goals.