Bart Vanham (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Vincent Rupied (Corporate Vehicle Observatory) drew up a definition of CSR in fleet and explained the importance of a clear CSR policy in the overall success of a company, where economic as well as social and environmental factors are key. An efficient CSR policy in fleet management will reduce the differences between the estimated cost of use of a fleet and it’s real cost of use by the improvement of the driver behaviour, the condition of the cars and the mobility of the employees. For today’s fleet managers green, safety and mobility are the three key elements in the CSR policy. These three elements can be used as efficient accelerators to start new fleet initiatives and to get the necessary support of the board and local peers.

 

The participants at this IFMI Expert session gained insight into the way green, safety and mobility can have a direct impact on the final Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a fleet. Olivier Fossion (ALD Automotive) proved by some best practices on downsizing of the engine that you can immediately realize important savings of up to several thousand Euro’s per car per year, while maintaining the motivation of the employees and helping the environment. Bart Vanham showed that tax-wise it is also cost-efficient to colour your fleet policy green, because all over Europe tax regulations will more and more concentrate on the use of the car, implementing green parameters such as CO2 emissions. By putting clear but realistic CO2-emission figures in your fleet policy you can save up to 10% on your TCO. Furthermore, as a fleet manager it is always useful to look to the future and to be proactive towards taxation issues, technology developments and residual value impact.

Werner Berger, Global Fleet Solutions Manager at Nestlé and the new International Fleet Manager of the Year, presented his case study and proved how he at Nestlé has used the green element as an enabler for the harmonization of its fleet policy. From a highly fragmented fleet landscape in 2007 Werner Berger successfully implemented a harmonious policy at an international level, leaving autonomy to the local fleet contacts and realizing a 10% CO2-emission reduction over a period of 2 years. By the end of 2012 Nestlé is aiming for a further CO2-reduction in its European fleet of 10% or 15,000 tons.

 

Saskia Harreman and John Houtsma of LeasePlan International presented the importance of safety in modern fleet management and the way to use safety as an effective management tool. Firstly, it is important to measure damage, accidents and also incidents in the fleet, before you can take action. Did you know that the safety part, represented by the insurance element, amounts to around 11% of the total TCO, before even taking into account the hidden costs for fleet accidents ? When you want to build a fleet risk management policy you have to concentrate on prevention & correction on the one hand and on managing risks on the other. On top of this you have to influence driver behaviour and guide drivers in safe driving. By doing this you can safeguard not only the lives of your personnel, but also the business of your company and you can realize important cost savings.

That was proven by the case study of Claus-Peter Krüger, Global Category Manager at Shell. By putting safety as the first priority of the company, Shell improved the insurance statistics, reduced the fuel consumption and the CO2-emissions while still keeping the drivers motivated.

 

But why only focus on the company car ? According to Wim Halsberghe from Fleet Synergy it is also the mobility of the driver that has to be taken into account when we talk about Corporate Social Responsibility. You can check the mobility needs of your company by a 5 steps mobility plan: travel only when it’s necessary; when you have to travel choose the best option; if you use a company car, pick the right one; if you drive, drive conscientiously; think about compensating the remaining CO2 output. Steve Gellatly, Global Category Manager at KONE, explained that when you implement a mobility approach you can save money and costs. With the O2xygen program, KONE put the focus on the policy impact, on a better vehicle selection, on driving excellence and on route optimisation and alternative transportation. The program helps KONE to reduce its TCO and its fuel consumption and CO2 output.

It’s clear that this IFMI Expert Session proved that Corporate Social Responsibility can be used as an efficient tool to optimize fleet processes and TCO. The next IFMI session will take place in the Spring of 2010. We will keep you informed.

If you want to receive more information on the IFMI program 2010, contact Annick Nemetz (anemetz@mmml.lu).