Sustainability in transportation is fast approaching an inflection point in the turn away from petroleum, and the next ten years will see this tectonic shift impacting all businesses with any manner of interest or investment in transportation. Whether your motivation to create a more sustainable fleet is to do your part in mitigating climate change, to meet regulatory requirements, to enhance your company’s “green” marketing efforts, or a combination of all of these, making the correct transportation sustainability decisions for your company’s needs is essential. Poorly executed or ill-informed sustainability development efforts can potentially backfire in all three of the aforementioned areas, and end up losing customer affinity – along with significant sums of investment funds. Preparing your company for scrutiny at the “triple bottom line”, which more and more industries are being held to, is absolutely vital for the longevity of your company in the 21st century marketplace.
The numbers don’t lie. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency: “In 2019, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation accounted for about 29 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest contributor of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of the overall trend, from 1990 to 2019, total transportation emissions have increased due, in large part, to increased demand for travel.”
Our responsibility is now crystal clear in this matter; the debate is long over. As business leaders, it is incumbent upon us to take responsibility for this threat to our planet. We will be held to account by not only our own customers in the here-and-now, but by future generations who will have to live with higher temperatures, higher seas, higher risk of food and water insecurity, and so on.
Perhaps you’re asking yourself now what can be done, or if you have already begun to take action, whether your efforts are thorough enough. Perhaps you have attempted a fleet transition and the project was unsuccessful. In all cases, when dealing with an in-house fleet, it all boils down to three core questions your company needs to ask itself:
Though these are brief, notice I did not say “simple” questions. These are indeed complex questions demanding a great deal of preparation and insight. The best place to start for your company may be with a Sustainable Transportation Specialist or Consultant to set you in the right direction. Many companies who operate their own fleets are hiring Fleet Sustainability Managers or Specialists to be the subject matter expert and guide their transition. Creating such an additional fleet role can be advantageous to established companies whose management and maintenance staff might be, how shall we say, a little “set in their ways” and would function not only as an SME but additionally a Change Manager. Finding the ideal combination of equipment upgrades and management methods for your company can be a challenge. But with good advice and good “long-view” planning, your company can not only make it through this critical transition, but in some cases actually reduce fuel and maintenance expenditures over time – while coming out smelling like the proverbial rose to your clients.
“Preparing your company for scrutiny at the “triple bottom line”, which more and more industries are being held to, is absolutely vital for the longevity of your company in the 21st century marketplace.”
Expert Bio:
Expert is a Transportation Operations and Fleet Sustainability consultant with over 20 years of experience in the transport sector. His work specialises in transit management, fleet operations and technology, facilities and infrastructure, planning, policy, public relations.
Key roles and experiences include:
– Has worked as a biodiesel and renewable diesel specialist.
– Main area of expertise is North America where his 5 job positions in the transportation sector took place.
– Has advanced training and certification in Project Management, Lean / Six Sigma, and as a Transit Driver Safety Trainer
Expert has extended knowledge on:
– Transportation / Transit Operations and Technology
– Fleet Sustainability and Electrification
– Transportation Management Systems (TMS, MaaS)