Carbon neutral
Carbon Neutral by 2012
We cannot escape using energy derived from fossil fuels – in offices, on site, in our van fleet, maintaining 100,000 homes, and through our fleet of company cars.
We can reduce our reliance on fossil fuel energy and 2009 saw some decisive steps taken to reduce our carbon footprint.
Company Cars and Car Allowance
Acknowledging that our company car fleet has been a large producer of carbon, we have taken steps to progressively reduce the availability of higher end carbon emitting cars available to staff. From July 2009, only cars emitting less than 160 g/km of CO2 are available, and this will reduce year on year, as seen below:
July 2010 > 150 g/km of CO2
July 2011 > 140 g/km of CO2
July 2012 > 130 g/km of CO2
Emissions are also reducing and by the end of 2009 the average across the company car fleet had dropped to 142 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. This also provides benefits through Capital Allowances and Corporation Tax by having a greater number of fleet vehicles under 160 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.
We are also tackling the amount of miles driven and 2010 will see business mileage limits introduced, starting at 25,000 and reducing to 20,000 in 2011.
These limits are backed up by a business unit penalty system of fines to encourage alternate forms of transport, carbon emission reduction and reduce risk to health & wellbeing of drivers.
An Efficient Fleet of Vans
We must not forget our commercial fleet. By tailoring the types of vans chosen, average emissions across the fleet now stand at 202 grams per kilometre. This is combined with the introduction of technology that allows us to see where each van is located, who is driving the vehicle and which trade they are skilled in.
This allows us send the closest, best equipped and best qualified person to carry out repairs for each assignment, thereby reducing fuel consumption by up to 40% in some maintenance contracts.