?Fleets could face a Government backlash after being accused of paying “lip service” to green issues and not taking duty of care seriously.
“There’s a lot of lip service being paid by fleets,” said Professor Peter Cooke, one of the authors of the Business Car Perceptions report. “Car makers are bending over backwards to reduce emissions and fleets have got to start doing something themselves.”
Prof Cooke warned that if the corporate sector isn’t seen to be doing enough, then Government will look at forcing the issue. “All three parties are talking about it, but no-one has yet come up with a solution,” he said. “In the next 12-24 months expect something significant to come out of it.” He used the example of businesses being allocated miles and being able to trade them like carbon credits.
He also warned that firms not taking duty of care seriously will be in for a shock: “You have to suppose the HSE will pick a big case at some point, be it driver hours, vehicle quality etc. They have a success rate of over 90% if they go for prosecutions, and think what that would do to a company image.”
