Tips and Resources

A growing awareness of global warming and other important (and potentially harmful) environmental trends on our planet is causing many organizations with mobile workforces to start thinking about their "carbon footprint" - that is, the impact they are having on the Earth's atmosphere through their consumption of carbon-based fuels.

A GPS tracking service is a perfect tool to help organizations with multiple vehicles on the road to lessen their environmental impact by identifying driving inefficiencies and patterns that are wasting fuel, increasing vehicle wear and tear and causing drivers to be on the road longer than they need to be. Here are 5 ways in which a GPS-based fleet management service inherently helps users to lessen their carbon footprints and become greener fleets.

Reduced fuel usage

The average commercial vehicle drives approximately 35,000 kilometres per year, with an average fuel economy of about 18l/100km. Recent research reveals that the mileage being put on vehicles equipped with a GPS tracking system is reduced by 5% over the course of a year. This means that fleets equipped with GPS tracking are driving (on average) 1750 kilometres less per vehicle just by using the system. How does GPS Tracking reduce fuel usage? By enabling dispatchers and drivers to plan more efficient (direct) routes, locating and then routing the closest vehicle to an unplanned job or delivery, and eliminating employee behaviours that consume fuel unnecessarily, such as speeding, prolonged engine idling and unauthorized use.

Reduced engine idling

The International Truck & Engine Corporation estimates that a typical operator burns 4 litres of fuel for every hour a truck idles - adding about 80 kilometres of engine wear and tear. When drivers leave their vehicles idling during deliveries, service stops or quick runs into the store, the amount of fuel consumed (and carbon emitted back into the atmosphere) unnecessarily can really add up.

Based on experience across a variety of industries and regions, the average vehicle reduces its idling time by about a half-hour per day with a GPS Tracking system. That's 2 litres of gas per day, and adds up to a bit over 10 litres per vehicle per week - which may not seem like much, but across 10 vehicles that's 100 litres of fuel not being burned, and a significant reduction in carbon emissions. Imagine the impact on a fleet of 25, 50 or 100 vehicles?

More efficient routing and driving

Powerful mapping and fleet management software, contain many features and tools that help users route their vehicles more efficiently and get to more stops and deliveries in the same, or lesser, amount of time. Fleet managers can play back and analyze routes taken by each vehicle, instantly locate the closest vehicle to an important site, advise drivers of road conditions, and more. And because GPS Tracking monitors and reports on important vehicle metrics such as speed, engine idling and stops/starts, wasteful behaviours can be identified and eliminated. All of which leads to less fuel consumed and more efficient use of vehicles, while expenses are being reduced.

Maintenance management

According to independent research, mobile operations that employ GPS tracking solutions experience an average of 11% reduction in vehicle maintenance and repair costs within the first year of service. Regular scheduling and implementation of even the most basic maintenance measures, such as keeping tires inflated and oil changed, will prevent a vehicle from consuming more fuel than it ought to. GPS based maintenance management tools enable fleet owners and managers to schedule and monitor regular repair work for all of their vehicles, keeping them on the road and maximizing their efficiency. Vehicles that are running poorly don't just burn more fuel, but they also cut into your bottom line through down time and missed stops/deliveries.

Access to relevant data

GPS tracking provides fleet owners and managers with what we like to call "operational visibility" - meaning, the information we compile enables you to "see" things and patterns within your fleet you didn't know, but need to know. For organizations concerned with their environmental impact, this means metrics like kilometres driven, engine hours, fuel consumption, etc. Fleet activity reports give you immediate access to this information, for any one or all of your vehicles. This makes it easy to analyze fuel usage patterns, purchase carbon offsets, compare the performance and efficiency of individual drivers/vehicles, or take other simple measures that will make your fleet more green. These are only some of the ways that a GPS tracking solution can help your organization lessen its environmental impact, simply by driving more efficiently and helping you to measure (and then manage) fuel consumption.