Climate change is widely acknowledged as the most pressing environmental challenge facing the world today. Controlling carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks is vital to addressing climate change, yet remains a largely unmet challenge. However, there are opportunities for companies to reduce their fleets' environmental impacts now, while improving the bottom line.
Corporate fleets operate over 9 million cars and light trucks in the U.S. These fleets are major consumers of oil and gasoline, sources of air pollution, and contributors to climate change. Fleet vehicles are driven an average of 25,000 miles per year, twice as much as personal vehicles, leading to nearly double the fuel consumption and emissions. Nearly half of fleet vehicles are leased from fleet management companies.
In July 2006, Environmental Defense announced a first-of-its-kind venture with PHH Arval, one of the world's largest fleet management companies, to improve the environmental performance of commercial fleets and significantly curb global warming emissions. PHH clients include nearly one-third of the Fortune 500 companies.
The project, PHH GreenFleet, will help neutralize the climate impacts of fleet operations by improving efficiency, purchasing carbon offsets and using other innovative pollution reducing tools. The GreenFleet program is designed to help companies cost-effectively measure, reduce, and offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Participation includes: in-depth analysis and recommendations to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; quarterly measurement and reporting of emissions; and resources to offset remaining emissions.
Environmental Defense and PHH set the following objectives for the partnership:
- Develop a model climate-neutral fleet management service that achieves significant, measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions while increasing PHH market share and improving profitability for PHH and its clients
- Demonstrate the feasibility of implementing climate-neutral fleet management strategies and improving environmental performance throughout the fleet management industry
- PHH has offset its own fleet greenhouse gas emissions, making it the first North American fleet management company to deploy a carbon neutral fleet.
- Over 60,000 vehicles managed by PHH Arval have utilized PHH GreenFleet's tools. Fleets that have fully implemented the program have reduced emissions on average by 14% and lifecycle operating costs by 4 percent.
- Fleets in the program include:
- Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation
- Owens Corning
- The Co-operators