FleetPartners to help Government achieve
carbon neutral fleets by 2012
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is looking forward to more sustainable fleet management following the appointment of FleetPartners as a preferred fleet manager.
Moves by the New Zealand Government to slash carbon emissions and lead sustainability efforts received a boost last month with the appointment of
FleetPartners as one of two preferred suppliers to the Department of
Conservation’s (DOC) large vehicle fleet.
FleetPartners was appointed following a lengthy public tendering process as part
of the Govt3 Fleet Review Project.
Govt3 aims to encourage New Zealand government agencies to demonstrate
leadership and improve sustainability when making everyday business decisions. With Government fleets comprising a significant proportion of CO2 emissions, the shift to more sustainable fleet management is a key priority.
FleetPartners’ Business Development Manager, Hamish MacRae, said the appointment highlighted FleetPartners’ environmental credentials and the benefits
of informed, strategic fleet partnerships.
“The Department was looking for a partner that could assist them achieve
their formal commitment to the Ministry for the Environment’s Govt3 sustainability
program, as well as a partner that could provide competitive pricing, robust lease
management and reporting capabilities, a commitment toward environmental
sustainability and innovative offerings that would help the Department in the previous categories.
“This decision vindicates our initiatives with respect to environmental sustainability
and gives us the confidence to continue pushing the boundaries when considering
innovative solutions to this global issue. It also establishes FleetPartners at the forefront of providers of sustainable vehicle fleet solutions,” Mr MacRae said.
Department looks to smaller, leaner fleet
With more than 670 vehicles, the DOC has one of the largest fleets of any government department.
Mr MacRae said the Department had already started “greening” its fleet, including the introduction of diesel fuelled passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
“We will be working with the Department to build on these changes and finding
ways to further reduce the fleet’s carbon footprint.”
Govt3 drives push for sustainable fleet management
The Department of Conservation’s new fleet supplier arrangements will support wider government sustainability efforts under the Govt3 initiative.
In a world-leading move, 34 core public service departments are now working to
achieve carbon neutrality as part of the government’s push towards sustainability.
The objective is to have the public service on the path to carbon neutrality by the
end of 2012.
Speaking at a Govt3 Sustainable Vehicle Drive Day last year, Associate Transport
Minister Judith Tizzard said new approaches to government fleet management would play a major role in achieving the Govt3 carbon objectives.
“We intend to use the Government’s purchasing power to help drive innovation,
cleaner production, and improved cost effectiveness over the whole life cycle of
goods and services,” she said. Under the Govt3 program, member agencies have increasingly added sustainability aspects to tender and contract documentation, with resulting improvements in areas such as fuel efficiency, building energy efficiency,
office supplies, cleaning services, and print services.
Green with confusion
Ethanol? LPG? Diesel? Electric? Hydrogen? Headache!
Byron Mathioudakis reports on the challenges facing New Zealand fleet managers who want to go green.
FLEET BUYERS can be forgiven for being confused as to which way to turn for a
greener vehicle.
Since 2005, when New Zealand oil prices started to soar and more people thought
about the environmental impact of energy, we have been hearing endless debate about alternate fuel sources to petrol, like diesel and ethanol.
But as we listen to conflicting points of view, and continue to wait for the long-promised zero emissions clean energy breakthrough, one thing is clear: there is no simple answer to the challenge of making New Zealand fleets greener and leaner. And the truth is that the car companies are not all in
accordance either.
General Motors eyes ethanol
America’s General Motors announced in January that it has helped develop a fuelgrade ethanol produced not from water-intensive grain-based material that impacts on the global food chain, but any renewable source like garbage and plant waste. By using a bacteria bio-fermentation process to breathe in carbon dioxide (CO2) and exhale ethanol, this new technology helps overcome one of the bio-fuel’s biggest drawbacks.
At the same time, GM is developing an electric car using super-advanced Lithium
Ion batteries and backed up by a 1.0-litre internal combustion engine that will be
sufficient for most commuting journeys under 35km/h (a common speed in busy
traffic and inner-city driving where a lot of fleet hours are logged). Travelling 100km a day results in using one-fifth of the fuel you would in a Toyota Yaris 1.3.
Dubbed E-Flex and showcased by the GM Volt concept car (pictured), this technology will come to New Zealand in the guise of a Holden Astra-style small car within about five years.
Petrol/electric big in Japan
Meanwhile, the Japanese are fervently pursuing their petrol/electric hybrid
drivetrains that have been refined since the late 1990s. Soon most Toyota models from Corolla upwards will offer a hybrid option.
And while recent bad press suggests that the incredibly energy-intensive cradle-to-grave journey of a hybrid vehicle makes it worse than an SUV V8 as far as the environment is concerned, Toyota refutes this.
Toyota and Honda say they have a disposal and recycling program in place for their
respective hybrid battery packs, which use Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) rather than
Nickel Cadmium batteries, because NiMH units are completely reusable and do not
pose a toxic threat to the environment.
Euros look to hybrids
Over in Germany, Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW and others are collaborating on their own diesel/hybrid solutions, which also rely on advanced battery power.
However, as diesel engines with their lowerthan-petrol carbon dioxide emissions strive to become even cleaner and more refined, they have their own issues – namely the high levels of smog-causing and ozonedepleting Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions they produce.
Ultimately it will be electricity produced by fuel cells that most analysts believe
will eventually take over, but the massive infrastructure and unit cost of fuel cell
vehicles means this is still at least a decade away.
Ethanol anyone?
As petrol blended with ethanol is now available at service stations around
New Zealand, it is vital to know which vehicles can be adversely affected.
Most of the fleet car favourites less than 10 years old – Toyotas, Fords, Holdens,
Hondas, Nissans, Mitsubishis and Subarus – are able to run on a blend of up to
10 per cent ethanol and 90 per cent petrol (E10).
However, there are exceptions, while several models are not designed to use
anything with more than five per cent of ethanol (E5).
The main benefit of ethanol is that the bio-mass process from which it is cultivated absorbs CO2 emissions naturally, taking a huge greenhouse gas source out of the equation.
But this is negated by higher fuel consumption levels (of up to three per
cent) because of its inherently lower energy rating, and – in some cases – the
uncertainty of how environmental its production has been, since oil-intensive
farm machinery can often be used in bio-mass cultivation.
In some older vehicles, the alcohol content in ethanol/petrol blends has
been known to cause issues like engine knock, fuel system blockages, and the
wearing out of some plastic and rubber components that the fuel comes into
contact with.
To make sure, the Motor Industry Association has released a list of vehicles that are approved by their manufacturers for E5 and E10 blends.
It’s a Gas!
LISTEN to its supporters and you will hear that Liquid Petroleum Gas has long been
an inexpensive and easy solution to soaring petrol prices.
According to the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association of New Zealand, LPG is cheap,
commercially available, and for fleets exceeding 40,000km mileages annually,
financially viable as a return on outlay can be expected in under nine months,
followed by savings.
They say that while CO2 emissions are slightly down on a diesel’s, Nitrogen
Oxide emissions are 2000 per cent better. And there are about 570 service stations
throughout NZ.
On the other hand, an LPG conversion adds weight to a vehicle, takes up cargo
space in most cases, and results in a small but noticeable performance drop.
Refuelling can also be a more fiddly affair with LPG.
Going green check points
TODAY, your environmental fleet options are still very limited, but you can still make a difference by ensuring the following:
- Choose the vehicle that is amongst the lowest carbon dioxide reading in its
segment – every manufacturer publishes each model’s CO2 emissions as a grams per kilometre rating - Downsize in engine capacity as well as body size where possible
- While most manual gearbox cars are traditionally more economical than automatics, the gap has closed with some six-speed models while Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearboxes – now available on a range of vehicles in NZ – are generally the most frugal on fuel
- Consider LPG for larger-engine vehicles if they will do high mileages – but weigh
up the slight luggage capacity loss first The cost of purchasing a diesel vehicle
can be slightly higher than a non-diesel vehicle, but as with the gas conversion,
fleets may recoup these costs depending on how the vehicle is used. - Hybrid vehicles begin to lose their economy and lower emissions advantage
if they are used on motorways rather than in congested traffic, since the
internal combustion engine will always be operating - Buying new ethanol-blend capable vehicles is a good idea as many can be
easily tuned at a later date to run on 85 per cent ethanol (E85) when that
becomes readily available - Don’t hold on to your existing fleet waiting for emissions-free electric orA message from Dennis Kelly
hydrogen vehicles because they’re still years away. The older a vehicle gets,
the less efficient and more polluting it becomes.
Managing Director FleetPartners New Zealand
Welcome to the latest edition of FleetView.
As summer turns to autumn, the arrival of cooler weather reminds us that the year is already well underway.
Here at FleetPartners we have enjoyed a very busy first quarter of 2008, characterised by a number of big wins and ongoing change in our industry.
If 2007 was about learning from customers and listening to what they want from a fleet partner, 2008 has been about delivering: more focussed customer service, better back-end reporting and more strategic fleet management.
Creating a hassle-free fleet management experience has been a key priority for our team this year, whether it is reducing quote times or introducing formalised customer feedback systems that help resolve issues quickly and effectively.
Our new MetroLease product has been a big hit in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) fleet sector. Customers clearly enjoy the flexibility of MetroLease and the focussed partnership offered by our HCV experts. By working closely with customers they are identifying cost savings and smarter ways of doing more with less in their fleets.
More broadly, our industry continues to change in line with a shift towards greener
fleets and reducing our carbon emissions. At FleetPartners we are acutely aware of our role in this global imperative and have been working closely with our customers recently to offer informed, strategic advice around the purchasing and operation of leaner, greener fleets.
Our leading role in the industry was one reason FleetPartners was successful in the
recent tender to manage the Department of Conservation’s 670-strong passenger vehicle fleet. We are delighted with our appointment and look forward to working with the Department to enhance the efficiency and environmental credentials of their large and varied fleet.
Lastly I wish to acknowledge the important contribution our many suppliers make to our business (and that of our customers). Late last year we held the first in a regular series of preferred supplier functions at our Mt Wellington and Christchurch headquarters. It was great to see so many different skills, products and services represented in the one place and I look forward to working with them to add value to our customers on an ongoing basis.
Diesel Tucson the new face of FleetPartners
Hyundai’s new compact SUV, the Tucson, has been chosen as ‘the face of FleetPartners’.
In keeping with FleetPartners’ commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, the
company’s new promotional vehicle is a fuel-efficient four-cylinder diesel. It replaces a larger six-cylinder passenger vehicle.
FleetPartners’ Marketing Manager, Gail McNamara, said the Hyundai Tucson
demonstrated FleetPartners’ commitment to ‘lead by example’.
“At FleetPartners we are driving the push for informed, strategic fleet advice.
By selecting the diesel Tucson as our demonstration vehicle, we hope to encourage more customers to think outside the square and consider reducing their CO2 emissions and enhancing the fuel efficiency of their fleets through smarter vehicle
selection as well as management.”
When considering FleetPartners’ next promotional vehicle, management set three
important criteria:
- Environmentally responsible –
FleetPartners is committed to sustainable
fleet management. - Safe and practical – FleetPartners use
this vehicle for everything from carrying
signage and conference packs through
to being on display at trade shows and
transporting special guests. As a result
the vehicle needed to be comfortable for
long trips and cost efficient. Boasting fuel
efficiency of 8L/100km, the four-cylinder
Tucson meets the rigorous Euro 4 Standards
for fuel efficiency. - Eye catching – The new design positions
FleetPartners as professional, responsible
and serious about making a difference.
Ms McNamara said FleetPartners was
committed to becoming carbon neutral
by 2011.
“This isn’t just about paying lip service.
It is about our commitment to New Zealand,
the environment and to our customers –
providing them with the information and
tools to make informed decisions about
their own vehicle fleets.”
face2face
Mike Goldsbury National Sales Manager Business Direct
It is with much pleasure that FleetPartners announce the appointment of Mike
Goldsbury to the position of National Sales Manager - Business Direct.
Mike has a successful background with over 20 years experience in the Financial
Services market. Most recently Mike was National Sales Manager for Geneva Finance, responsible for a nationwide sales force.
Mike joins us at a very exciting time for FleetPartners Direct with the upcoming
launch of our Dealer Direct on-line quoting system as well as our on-line credit scoring system, which will give us a unique point of difference in the SME operating lease market.
Some things you didn’t know about Mike Goldsbury:
When I was a child I wanted to be a vet but after visiting a neighbour’s farm when they were doing AI in the cow herd I thought being a fireman was much more fun.
When I grow up I want to be a grown up – which is what most of my friends tell me all the time! Grow up!
It’s not fashionable but I love to stay home and watch a good/bad movie.
If I were a car I’d be a 1969 Daimler and I would be towing a fishing boat behind me.
I wish I had never thought I would be a millionaire as it hasn’t happened yet (except in debt) and I am still waiting.
My favourite motoring gadget is cruise control for the long trips and motorway
driving which sends me nuts! It gives me a chance to concentrate on developing my
road rage skills.
My ideal weekend is to escape my wife’s gardening plans and shoot up to Mangawhai Heads with a couple of mates and watch the young guys surfing pretending we could still cut it with them.
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