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Fleet Management 5 min read

Green fleet strategies to implement now — to prepare for the future

Green fleet strategies to implement now — to prepare for the future

The global spotlight is on sustainability now more than ever before. It's time for fleets to go green.

In the US, the EPA plans to reduce greenhouse gases for heavy trucks starting in model year 2027. In 2024, California will be the first state to require automakers to sell more zero-emissions trucks, with the plan to have all new truck sales be zero-emissions by 2045.

As for Europe, under an EU mandate, manufacturers must ensure their new heavy-duty vehicles meet CO2 reduction targets; a 15% reduction starting in 2025 and a 30% reduction from 2030 onwards.

And in Japan, where 35% of CO2 emissions come from commercial trucks and buses, it recently became the first country worldwide to set fuel efficiency regulations for heavy-duty vehicles.

Location-powered solutions can accelerate your sustainability goals.

While more regulations continue to roll out, fleets shouldn't wait until they're forced to adopt more sustainable practices. They should start now, on their own terms, setting the bar for competitors in their field.

In this article, we're exploring green strategies to aim for in the future, ones to put into action today—and why location technology is the common denominator.

Freight transport accounts for more than 50% of nitrogen oxides emissions, 30% of volatile organic compounds emissions and 20% of particulate matter emissions in the US. Source: EPA.

The future is electric

Did you know that sustainable policies can reduce your operating expenses? It's true. For example, every liter of diesel a truck burns while idling is one that you've paid for but are getting zero return from. Therefore, an electric fleet can not only keep you compliant when it comes to fuel emissions regulations, but it can also help reduce costs in the long run.

What about range?

For the foreseeable future, delivery vehicles aren't going to be recharging on the go for a couple of reasons:

  • The current offerings of industrial-scale EV charging infrastructure wouldn't be able to meet the demand.
  • Truck drivers (who often work overtime) won't want to waste valuable shift time charging their trucks because that's time they won't be compensated for.

Location technology can help reduce range anxiety.

So, the feasibility of an electric fleet comes down to routing. Understanding your effective range limit as a hard limit and being able to plan around it is crucial for those adopting EVs now and in the near future. But, thankfully with location-powered solutions such as HERE Routing, an accurately calculated route is a route you can complete. It simplifies multi-stop journey planning and determines which routes are best for EVs based on vehicle capacity, speed, terrain and more.

Change starts now

While the rollout of EVs is still on the horizon for many, the good news is there's no need to wait to become more sustainable. There are plenty of strategies your fleet can start implementing today with the help of HERE location technology that can positively impact the environment and reduce costs such as:
  • Optimized tour planning: Location technology allows retailers to match jobs to vehicles and optimize tour plans for millions of deliveries. This is a great strategy to avoid excess and unnecessary mileage.
  • Intelligent routing: Traffic-aware routing reduces stop-and-go driving and idling, cutting down on wasteful fuel consumption.
  • Driver analysis: Analyzing driver performance shines a spotlight on certain behaviors that could benefit from eco-friendly coaching and guidance. And it can help identify poorly allocated resources, compare vendor performance and improve route forecasting.
  • Sustainability analytics: You can't make a change if you don't know your baseline. Increase your visibility into the environmental impact of your fleet's operations. Then, leverage those findings to analyze which areas are contributing to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability is our responsibility

Whether you're looking to stay within environmental regulations, cut costs, achieve sustainability goals or prepare for EVs, location technology can help make it happen.

Want to learn more? Download our latest eBook, Give your fleet the sustainability green light, where we do a deeper dive on EVs and how location-powered solutions can reduce operating costs and accelerate the achievement of your sustainability goals.

Julia Johnston

Julia Johnston

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