What’s a fleet emissions profile and should you have one? | Utilimarc Fleets FYIs

Gretchen Reese (00:24):

Hey there. Welcome to the Fleet FYIs Podcast, the weekly podcast by Utilimarc that reveals how you can make the most of your data for smarter fleet management. My name is Gretchen, and every week you'll hear from me or some of the industry's finest in candid conversations that will not only shed some light on over two decades worth of fleet data insights, but also some of the industry's hottest talking points and key metric analysis with the aim to help you better understand your fleet from every angle.

(00:52):

But before we begin, if this is the first time you've heard our show, thanks for stopping by. I'm so glad you decided to come along for the ride with us. But I've got a quick favor to ask you. Once you finish today's episode, if you could take a few minutes to leave us a review on your favorite podcasting platform, we would really appreciate it. Give us a rating, five stars I hope, or tell us what you liked or leave us a comment or a question about what you've heard in today's episode. If we haven't yet covered a topic that you're interested in hearing more about, let us know. We would be happy to go over it in detail in a later show.

(01:34):

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast. Before I get started today, I wanted to share some really exciting news with you on the Utilimarc front. So you may have seen this already, but this is a survey that I've been very excited for, pretty much every single year that we've done it since I started with Utilimarc a few years ago. But, I've been so excited to share with you that our survey results for industry-leading fleet professionals and compensation across the board in the fleet industry, the results are now live on Utilimarc's website. So, www.utilimarc.com if you haven't already seen them.

(02:12):

I hope you'll be interested to see a little bit more about what is going on for compensation packages in 2022. But just so you guys know, the respondents were based primarily throughout North America and they operate in various fleet verticals. That includes municipalities, utilities and other sectors as well. We tried to assess average salaries, and I think we did a pretty good job of accomplishing that goal; common benefits and other aspects of employment that a lot of folks are really enjoying, or maybe not so much, just to understand any trends or changes in compensation. So if you haven't already checked it out, make sure you do. We have the results live on our site and I'm really excited to hear what you guys think of them.

(02:56):

But aside from that, I wanted to turn the track back around to a little bit more of a sustainability-focused episode, because I feel like I haven't done one in a while. And by, "I feel like I haven't done one in a while", I mean a couple weeks, because I have to make sure that it seems like, "Hey, why don't we get back this track rolling a little bit?" And honestly, having it be two weeks, I think it's time for another one.

(03:22):

So, it is no surprise that more fleets around the world are implementing new policies and initiatives that target overall, increasing sustainability. We know this by now, sustainable policies are becoming quite a common thing, especially in the world of fleet, and many of these strategies include introducing new technologies, vehicles and fuel types that align better with each fleet's goals. Because like we've said on this show before, sustainability strategies are not one size fits all. For some, EVs might work better, for some it could be alternative fuels like CNG or hydrogen. For some, it could just be better managing internal combustion engine data just to make sure that you're optimizing your fleet as well as you can be.

(04:01):

Although, that being said, one of the most common goals across the board is the reduction of greenhouse gases. This can happen by way of idle reduction, switching to more eco-friendly fuels, replacing internal combustion engine vehicles or other sustainability strategies. But most fleets will find that some tactics, like I said, work better for them than others. So again, there's no one size fits all.

(04:25):

And I know I say that a lot when it comes to sustainability episodes. It's no secret; just go back in the archives and you'll hear exactly what I'm talking about. But the point that I really want to drive home, sorry for the bad driving pun, or truck pun, the point I really want to drive home is that every single fleet is different, and that is the biggest part of this. We want to make sure that everyone is making the right decisions based on their fleet mix and based on their organization and the goals that they have set in place.

(04:52):

So the first thing that I would like to touch on in the episode today, especially surrounding sustainability strategies, is emissions profiling. And I think when it comes to trying to implement a sustainability strategy, especially around greenhouse gas emissions, a fleet manager will want an accurate understanding of their organization's emissions profile to know exactly where they are currently standing and where they would like to stand in the future. But to delve further into that, let's talk about what an emissions profile actually is.

(05:58):

So, an emissions profile details a fleet or organization's total carbon emissions within a certain period of time. Now, this profile includes emissions from activities ranging from energy generation, fuel consumption and other daily operations, and it's broken down into three levels, otherwise heard as a scope. You might have heard that before. Scope 1 measures emissions produced from direct activities, such as fuel consumption by an internal combustion engine fleet. Scope 2 emissions might result from secondary activities such as facility climate control and electricity consumption, which will increase with fleet electrification, so a lot of fleets operate in that Scope 1, bordering on Scope 2.

(06:38):

Now, the third and final scope accounts for any other emissions produced from indirect sources. This can include supply chain, sourcing of raw materials, distribution of goods and a lot more fits under that umbrella. Now, as you can imagine, the process for measuring the emissions produced by primary, secondary and tertiary activities can be just a bit tedious and a little unclear, and each individual activity can have its own distinct process for accounting for emissions.

(07:04):

For a fleet GHG reporting at Scope 1, for example, you need to take into consideration the types of fuels being consumed, the exact amount being consumed, types and amount of vehicles in operation, and the conditions of these vehicles itself. It sounds a little complicated, but bear with me here. Dozens of other factors and considerations can affect emissions output for each fleet. For example, all-electric fleet might see drastic decreases in Scope 1 emissions, but a huge increase in Scope 2 because, remember, like we said, when it comes to Scope 2, that is a direct result from secondary activities like climate control or electricity consumption. Which, if you have an electric vehicle, well, odds are you're going to be consuming more electricity, right? Make sense?

(07:48):

In this case, and others, this is where I really think that understanding the profile as a whole is increasingly critical when it comes to trying to deal with a GHG emission strategy over time. And, if we wanted to look at how emissions profiles are being used, because that's another critical part of this as well, it's not just knowing what scope you're in and what a profile is, but how are they used? Depending on the type and size of organization, reporting on fleet emissions could be legally mandated or voluntarily shared for transparency.

(08:21):

For a lot of government entities, so this is for you municipality fleet folks that are listening to the show, sharing quarterly or yearly fleet emissions is a mandatory thing for a lot of people. If it's not mandatory yet, it probably will be very, very soon. But for other large corporations, it could be externally mandated, in this case by either your investors or the public that you serve, or that purchases your services or goods. Or, it could be a matter of personal ethics within your organization, being an internal initiative.

(08:53):

The US Environmental Protection Agency requires nearly 8,000 of the country's top greenhouse gas contributors to report annually on their emissions; this is another piece of that external factor I was talking about. And these organizations make up nearly 90% of the greenhouse gases in the United States. So closely monitoring change is very, very important.

(09:13):

And here's one thing that I really want to note. So, even if sharing your greenhouse gas contributions is not required, an accurate emissions profile is still hugely necessary for any fleet committing to internal sustainability initiatives, because what they really do is they help organizations to understand and take accountability for their contributions. It works as a starting point for future improvement and functions as a guide for vehicle replacement.

(09:38):

The uses for an emission profile can be multifaceted as long as the report is backed by detailed and accurate data. So really, what I'm trying to say here is it's not just about trying to externally report. You can use an emissions profile, or at least a basic understanding of one, even if you're not reporting yet, just to try and encourage more knowledge around what your fleet is doing, how your organization is performing, and potentially even do an internal benchmark year-over-year on how you're doing.

(10:41):

Anyways, I would love to hear what all of you thought of the episode today. Have you ever used emissions profiles before? Did you know what one was before the show today? Are you aware of what scope your fleet operates in, or the majority of which scope your emissions lie into? Are you working on a greenhouse gas strategy? Share with me all the juicy details. I would love to hear more about it, and you know how to find me. You can either send me an email, you can tag me on LinkedIn, use the hashtag #UtilimarcFleetFYIs. Or if you really feel like it, you can send me a carrier pigeon too. I don't judge.

(11:13):

Anyways, that is all from me for today. I will look forward to chatting to you next Friday on the next episode of Fleet FYIs. Ciao.

(11:45):

Hey there. I think this is the time that I should cue the virtual high-five, because you've just finished listening to another episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast. If you're already wanting more content, head over to utilimarc.com, which is Utilimarc, with a C, utilimarc.com, for this episode's show notes and extra insights coming straight from our analysts to you. That's all from me this week, so until next time, I'll catch you later.