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The challenge: lack of in-house expertise and maxed-out staff
Despite having invested in ISO 14001, sustainable practices were not integrated into Safetell’s day-to-day operations. With ramping regulations and client demands, the team recognised that this needed to change or that they’d struggle to keep up. They also saw a missed opportunity to improve customer success, lower operational costs and streamline operations.
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However, the company lacked the expertise to identify the necessary operational efficiencies, and no one had the capacity to drive any sustainability efforts forwards.
The solution: taking the time
to understand Safetell’s
unique challenges
Safetell engaged Green Steps to provide them with decarbonisation expertise. Lindsey Hall, Green Steps’
sustainability consultant, met with the team and analysed internal management data to understand current
performance and establish baselines to compare future improvements against.
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The company already had headline GHG emissions data, but a more granular understanding of the current operational performance was needed to know what reductions could realistically be achieved, in what timeframe, and to quantify the resulting improvements.
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Having spent the time to fully understand the business, Lindsey created a carbon reduction strategy; a one-year action plan to achieve the established goals. The commercial fleet was the primary focus, since their fuel consumption was responsible for 86% of total scope 1 emissions.
The results: clear, simple
and practical actions
Having reviewed Masternaut telematics data for the fleet, Lindsey identified several key areas where improvements could be made to reduce fuel consumption and associated vehicle exhaust emissions. These were based around:
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Safe and eco-driving behaviour
Across the fleet, a wide range of driving styles was exhibited by Safetell’s technicians, resulting in a variance of observed fuel efficiency between the best and poorest-performing drivers. These driving indicators were specifically:
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Harsh braking
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Harsh acceleration
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Excessive speeding
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Harsh cornering
With her extensive experience in sustainable fleet practices and driver engagement, Lindsey developed an eco-driver training module, tailored to Safetell’s unique operating requirements. Applied together with ongoing training and feedback, this focus on eco-driving behaviour is projected to reduce fuel costs by ca. 20%, while reducing associated carbon emissions, improving road safety and benefitting Safetell’s corporate reputation with safer, more courteous drivers.
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Excessive idling
An idling diesel van emits 1.7kg of CO2 per hour, along with pollutants that contribute to ground-level ozone, smog and respiratory health problems. Lindsey identified that the fleet’s true idling rates were higher than industry benchmarks, and there was a high incidence of idling events over 5 minutes in duration. She set a number of actions to control this unnecessary fuel consumption and source of emissions.
​Fleet optimisation
The decarbonisation plan also targeted the following aspects of fleet operations:
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Dispatch efficiency
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Fuel-efficient routing
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Optimising vehicle stock levels
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Preventative maintenance
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Transitioning to electric vehicles
Next steps
Safetell has engaged Green Steps to project manage the decarbonisation strategy and deliver the majority of the associated actions to guarantee that the project remains on target.
In her capacity as a Sustainability Consultant to Safetell, Lindsey is now:
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Providing all parties with the assistance they need to complete their actions
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Ensuring that all actions are completed according to the agreed deadlines
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Virtually attending any meetings with internal/external stakeholders that cover topics related to their sustainability and carbon reduction programme
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Creating all GHG emissions reporting for SECR and PPN 06/21, in accordance with the GHG Protocol
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Responding to sustainability and carbon-related information requests for RFPs and customer due diligence
“Lindsey has supported our business and provided the missing expertise in carbon emissions we needed to get on track with our sustainability objectives”
Nick Shannon, Managing Director, Safetell