Greening the grey fleet
Managing business travel is increasingly challenging in the current economic environment. It’s probably the reason that a new report from Europcar Mobility Group UK – Greening the Grey Fleet – found that 4 in 5 businesses rely on grey fleet for business travel. And 40% of employees believe their employer relies more on grey fleets now than before the pandemic.
Budgets don’t stretch as far as they used to; the pandemic has changed how people work; the availability of new vehicles and parts was also severely hampered by COVID-19 and other global challenges. Plus, there is growing pressure to improve sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of business mobility.
For many businesses, juggling all of these challenges means there’s often a reliance on grey fleet – employees driving their own vehicles for work travel. But that presents another set of hurdles – from employee duty of care to delivering sustainability targets.
The Duty of Care risk
The Europcar research found that currently a quarter of employees say they are not required to provide any evidence of driving licence, insurance or vehicle excise duty when driving for work purposes which presents a very real Duty of Care risk to employers. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 clearly states that it is “the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees” and this includes when employees are travelling.
A grey issue
The other question is what impact grey fleet has on a firm’s sustainability goals. As the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) Grey Fleet Management said in a recent webinar, ‘what is the point of making our core fleet zero emissions through electrification if our grey fleet lags miles behind?’
Sustainability is now on the agenda for most businesses, but do employees believe their employer is doing enough when it comes to sustainable travel. 32% of those employees surveyed by Europcar, said their employer has no green travel options in place. However, they said they would be willing to see a range of controls on grey fleet usage, including limit on vehicle age, limit on CO₂ emissions output as well as undergoing driver training.
A flexible alternative
Using rental as a flexible mobility solution could be the answer for employers to meet employee expectations. At Europcar we have found that many businesses are taking a transitional approach, reducing emissions through limiting journeys, alongside testing new powertrains including hybrid and electric. And they are using rental to ensure the right vehicle is used for each job, short or long term, to suit requirements.
Flexible vehicle usage – rental by the day, week, month or even several years – helps motorists and businesses reduce emissions whilst also keeping drivers and other road users safe. Working with Europcar, access to a fleet of young vehicles as well as a growing electric fleet delivers the essential compliance for Ultra Low and Clean Air Zones as well as cuts emissions compared to a typically older grey fleet.
To read the latest Europcar Grey Fleet Report click here.
