Concern with the environment and demanding corporate reporting standards on sustainability issues are causing fleet operators internationally to reassess the impact that their vehicles emissions have on the atmosphere. 

But, says Standard Bank Fleet Management, South African fleet managers have yet to follow their counterparts and fully realise the benefits of introducing ‘green fleets' to the country.

There is no doubt, says David Molapo, Managing Director of Standard Bank Fleet Management, that recent legislation introducing a carbon tax on vehicles for each g/km of CO2 emissions above a threshold of 120g/km is the beginning of future industry changes. These will play a part in reducing greenhouse emissions in South Africa and aligning the country with international best practices.

"The push to include the impact that company fleets have on the environment will be apparent first in SA's listed companies and within companies that have international parents who will want to include local subsidiaries in their overall statutory sustainability reporting," he says. "Fleet owners here should therefore examine international trends and begin developing policies and reporting standards that align them with these trends. The logical time to do this is when fleets are being renewed or upgraded."

Instead of adopting a ‘wait and see' attitude about emission control, fleet owners would do well to begin examining their existing fleets and planning for the future. By familiarising themselves with the carbon footprints of their fleets now, managers will be able to ensure that they are ready for change when it occurs.

He says that it was understandable that there was little incentive to ‘go green' amongst South African fleet owners and operators. It has never been a business imperative and information on emissions tends to be restricted to vehicle specifications as published by vehicle manufacturers.

It was in response to the increasing demand for information about vehicle emissions and carbon footprints that the decision was taken to add this information to the bank's fleet reporting capabilities, he observes.

With the implementation of a carbon tax on new passenger vehicles as well as a means of measuring greenhouse gas emissions, businesses can gear themselves accordingly to play a role in becoming more environmentally friendly as well as better manage operational costs resulting from high carbon footprints.

"We believe that there will be an increasing interest in these statistics, particularly in South African branches of multi-national companies.

"Secondly, there is no doubt that safeguarding the environment will increasingly become a business imperative. As time progresses, more fleet managers will be examining this data even if only to see which brands of vehicles provide the best "value" as far as reduced emissions are concerned," David says.

"As a major bank ensuring that we supply value-added services to our customers is important. The more value we add to our products, the easier it is for our customers to administer their fleets efficiently.

"The measuring of carbon footprints is therefore a logical step in this direction. Busy fleet owners can also, for instance, use our services to review the driving habits of their drivers. We can point out operational aberrations through our normal reporting and arrange for computer-based training for fleet drivers if required.

"The Bank's environmental management philosophy is that we have an obligation to manage the environmental and social impacts that our activities, products and services have on society. We must respond strategically to the risks which global environmental and social pressures have on our ability to create sustainable value for our stakeholders."

He concludes, "To this end, we have kept pace with changes in the market. There is no doubt that green vehicles and data surrounding carbon footprints will become increasingly important. We have ensured that when this information is required, it is immediately available to our customers."