Although there is less reliance on in-person meetings and business travel for conferences and meetings post-pandemic, some business travel remains essential. However, for many businesses, with rising fuel prices and a growing number of clean air and ultra low emissions zones around UK cities, managing this essential mobility is more challenging than ever.
A new report from Europcar – ‘Greening the Grey Fleet’ – found that 4 in 5 businesses rely on their employees driving their own vehicles for business travel. And employers rely on these ‘grey fleets’ more now than before the pandemic. This increased reliance presents another set of hurdles – from employee duty of care to delivering sustainability targets.
The duty of care risk
According to the Europcar research, a quarter of employees say they are not required to provide any evidence of driving licence, insurance or vehicle excise duty when driving for work purposes. This presents a very real duty of care risk for employers. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 clearly states that it is “the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees”. And this includes when employees are travelling.
A grey issue
The other question is what impact grey fleet has on a firm’s sustainability goals. As the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) said in a recent Grey Fleet Management webinar, ‘what is the point of making our core fleet zero emissions through electrification if our grey fleet lags miles behind?’
Sustainability is now on the agenda for most businesses, but not all employees believe their employer is doing enough when it comes to sustainable travel. Nearly a third of those employees surveyed by Europcar, said their employer has no green travel options in place. Yet they said they would be willing to see a range of controls on grey fleet usage, including limit on vehicle age, limit on CO2 emissions output as well as undergoing driver training.
A flexible alternative
Using rental as a flexible mobility solution could be the answer for employers to meet employee expectations. At Europcar we have found that many businesses are taking a transitional approach, reducing emissions through limiting journeys, alongside testing new powertrains including hybrid and electric. And they are using rental to ensure the right vehicle is used for each job, short or long term, to suit requirements.
Flexible vehicle usage – rental by the day, week, month or even several years – helps motorists and businesses reduce emissions while also keeping drivers and other road users safe. Working with Europcar, access to a fleet of young vehicles as well as a growing electric fleet delivers the essential compliance for ultra low and clean air zones as well as cutting emissions compared to a typically older grey fleet.
To read the latest Europcar Grey Fleet Report visit bit.ly/europcargreyfleetreport
