Fleet Manager brings transparency to fleet carbon footprints

A unique application offering fleet operators full transparency on their fleets’ carbon emissions and revealing the most carbon efficient vehicle choices has been launched by benchmark automotive data providers CAP.

CAP Environmental Fleet Manager reveals the environmental consequences of existing fleet policy - the first step in mitigating the financial impact of CO2 emissions.

But the real power of the application lies in its vehicle comparison functionality. This enables operators to create ‘what if’ scenarios by comparing vehicle choices and identifying the most carbon-efficient cars and car-derived vans. Alternatively, the tool can also be used to assist in determining carbon offset costs.

Carbon output comparisons are carried out within practical and realistic parameters, enabling users to identify the most efficient alternative vehicles within their chosen sector. This prevents inappropriate comparisons between vehicles designed for different uses, for example large 4x4s and small city cars. All parameters are also user-definable.

Originally designed to help contract hire and leasing operators to provide vital additional support for their customers, CAP Environmental Fleet Manager is also ideal as a customer-facing tool for the car dealership.

Unlike a simple carbon calculator, CAP Environmental Fleet Manager delivers real competitive advantage to users by comparing the CO2 outputs of cars and car-derived vans to enable the most efficient vehicle choices. This makes it an ideal tool in setting more tax-efficient fleet policies or to enable car dealers to give their customers clear guidance on the question of emissions.

With regulatory focus increasingly turning to carbon emissions, fleets in particular face ever more stringent financial penalties for CO2 output. As the UK government and the European Commission moves to penalise high carbon emissions, those fleets which choose more efficient vehicles will enjoy competitive advantage over rivals which fail to address the issue.

Fleets which do fail to identify their existing CO2 outputs run the risk of punitively high taxation penalties in the near future. With cars and light commercial vehicles responsible for almost 20 per cent of Europe’s carbon emissions fleets are in the front line for measures designed to reduce that figure.

As well as taxation via fuel duties and Benefit In Kind, pressure will also come from other financial measures, such as capital write-down allowances. Fleets which have no clarity on their existing situation will inevitably suffer punitive taxation penalties and will be in no position to plan effectively for the future.

CAP Environmental Fleet Manager offers the facility to address both questions, quickly and simply with one web-based application. The tool is also undergoing constant development to meet the growing green challenge, with a powerful range of additional features due next year, including whole life cost integration.

CAP Client Service Director, Ian Rendle, said: “Environmental Fleet Manager is the result of CAP’s determination to help our customers to achieve their strategic objectives. Competitive advantage can not be achieved without taking account of the carbon emissions issue and we are proud to be helping the industry to respond most effectively to that challenge.”