European Fleet Emission Monitor: Report
Fleet Manager Survey: Insights and Perspectives
Introduction
Sustainability and reducing carbon emissions have become pressing concerns for businesses and governments worldwide. In Europe, the transportation sector is one of the leading contributors to carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 15% of all CO₂ emissions annually and with around 12 million cars registered every year. Over the next decade this number is expected to even increase to around 100 million cars, making the corporate channel then the primary contributor to carbon emissions. With the B2B sector now overtaking the private channel as the most significant contributor, businesses have a responsibility to act towards reducing their carbon footprint. As one player in the industry, Alphabet recognises its role in reducing CO₂ emissions emitted by the B2B sector and contributing to a more sustainable future.
To gain insights into current practices and attitudes towards sustainability and CO₂ emissions, Alphabet conducted a survey of fleet managers: The European Fleet Emission Monitor (EFEM). In this survey, Alphabet asked more than 700 decision makers responsible for managing company fleets in 12 different countries and various business sectors. The companies included in the survey ranged in size from those with fewer than 500 employees to those with over 1,000. The fleets themselves also varied in size, with some consisting of more than 100 cars and others with more than 10.
"Our goal was to gain a better understanding of how these fleet managers were considering the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on their fleet planning...There is a significant need for a comprehensive tool to measure and reduce CO₂ emissions in order to achieve sustainability goals. We as mobility provider understand that we have a task, and we take it. Alphabet is developing a new monitoring tool which will help fleet managers make sustainable and economical decisions."
Markus Deusing, CEO Alphabet International
Sustainability Takes Center Stage: Potential Deal-breaker in Today’s Fleet Business Landscape
Almost 61% of the surveyed companies have sustainability as a consideration when planning their fleets. This indicates that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor in the business world. In fact, 60% of Alphabet’s customers recognise sustainability as a key aspect of making business decisions.
However, while 38% of customers acknowledge sustainability’s importance, they don’t always make it a top priority when making decisions. Interestingly, only 9.6% of companies completely disregard sustainability when making company-wide decisions.
Despite the promising numbers, the study also found that one of the biggest hurdles towards sustainability is monitoring CO₂ emissions from fleets.
Sustainability concerns are given considerable weight by most of the Swedish companies surveyed when making business decisions. Sweden also stands out for having the highest level of agreement on the crucial nature of reducing CO₂ emissions.
Spot on: Electrification
According to the EFEM’s findings, customers view electrification as a critical step towards achieving sustainability. A significant majority of more than two thirds (69.1%) believe that their fleet will eventually become fully electrified. A noteworthy 30% of these customers expect their fleet to be completely free of petrol or diesel vehicles within the next six to ten years, and 21% believe this change will occur within the next three to five years.
However, the survey results indicate that significant obstacles must be overcome to achieve a fully electrified fleet. Approximately 94% of fleet managers surveyed see still major challenges on the road to electrification. The two most significant issues are range (37.7%) and charging infrastructure (35.7%). Another challenge is employee reluctance to switch from petrol and diesel vehicles, which was cited by 6.8% of respondents.
Numbers Don’t Lie: Why Monitoring is Essential for Companies to Succeed
Companies striving to reach their targets must have a firm grip on their numbers – and there’s no better way to keep tabs on their progress than through monitoring. However, according to the EFEM, almost one fifth of the companies surveyed have yet to grasp the importance of monitoring and are clueless about the CO₂ emissions of their fleets.
Without this vital information, they have no way of knowing if they’ve achieved their goals or what measures to adjust to reach them. In contrast, a mere 37% of companies currently monitor their emissions.
Despite this, the EFEM survey reveals that an impressive 83.4% of Alphabet customers recognise the significance of reducing their fleet’s CO₂ emissions. In fact, more than half of these forward-thinking customers (50.9%) have already set concrete CO₂ reduction goals, with over one third planning to achieve these targets within the next two to five years.
“Only those who know their own status quo will achieve future goals.”
Markus Deusing
CEO
Alphabet International
Gain the Competitive Edge with Real-time Data Monitoring and Analysis
When it comes to monitoring, a significant number of responsible parties (48.3%) are left without a suitable solution and must rely on their own calculations based purely on consumption data. Another third (31%) turn to manufacturer data that’s been gathered and stored in old-fashioned Excel spreadsheets.
But for those who prefer to stay on top of things, they’re using cutting- edge fleet management tools to document their energy consumption and CO₂ emissions data. Only a small fraction (22%) opts to use evaluations from leasing providers to track their energy usage.
To achieve its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, the European Union has set a target for the CO₂ fleet value at 95 g/km for all vehicles and manufacturers.
However, the pressure is on for companies to reduce emissions even further. By 2025 and 2030, new vehicles are required to reduce average CO₂ emissions by 15% and 37.5% respectively compared to 2021 levels. It is a challenging task, but a necessary one to ensure a more sustainable future for all.
“Time is short and new regulations are coming soon. Companies need to act now.”
Markus Deusing
CEO
Alphabet International
Survey Shows Alarming Gap in European Companies' CO₂ Emission Targets
It’s astonishing to note that out of all the companies surveyed, only one third have managed to achieve an average CO₂ emission value below 100 g/km – a feat that almost meets the EU benchmark of 95 g/km.
This means that most European companies, which is nearly 50%, are unable to meet this goal. These companies have a CO₂ emission value that ranges from 100 g/km up to 130 g/km, putting them at risk of incurring severe fines.
It’s clear that there’s still much work to be done to address this issue and ensure that more companies are able to adopt sustainable practices.
