How to Make Your Fleet Greener

If you oversee dozens of commercial trucks, you're likely adding to United States emissions statistics each year. Following a green fleet strategy benefits the environment, and your efforts can help you save fuel. Learn how to make your fleet more eco-friendly for financial savings and peace of mind.

1. Optimize Transit Routes

Most commercial fleets travel between states for deliveries. Whether your drivers are picking up supplies or dropping off merchandise, logical transit routes are essential for reducing the environmental impact of your fleet. 

See what you can do to map out a level travel route to prevent truck engines from working overtime. The harder a vehicle's engine has to work to maintain speed, the more fuel drivers burn. You'll want to select interstate highways with few inclines to minimize carbon emissions. Additionally, scheduling drivers outside of rush-hour traffic times will reduce idling.

Investing in cloud routing navigation software makes it simple to inform drivers about navigation changes on the road. Send specific truck routes to employees from a remote location.

2. Monitor Fuel Use

Refueling costs you money. One of the easiest ways to implement a fleet sustainability strategy is to keep your expectations for drivers realistic. Keep trips short when possible and lighten loads rather than fill trucks to the limit. Overloading vehicles forces a truck's engine to use more fuel, which contributes to poor gas mileage and increased emissions.

Fleet telematics hardware enables you to assess vehicle performance and determine how much you're spending per mile. Rand McNally Fleet offers plug-and-play devices that connect via OBDII ports. Kick-start green initiatives for your trucking company with the resources required to coordinate stops and budget accordingly.

3. Prioritize Driver Training

Your employees can only drive commercial trucks safely with the proper training. Put the time in to train new hires and existing workers for compliance and sustainability practices. Drivers who stay alert behind the wheel plan their actions best. Rewarding employees with incentives for safe driving can be enough to reduce instances of sudden braking and acceleration on the road.

Pay attention to driver analytics to influence your green fleet strategy. Rand McNally's technology lets you see driver-specific reports. Inform others about hard braking, speeding habits, and other patterns that contribute to heightened emissions.

4. Choose Appropriate Fleet Trucks

There is no sense in using your largest vehicle to fulfill a small delivery. Planning your trips is a key component in running a green fleet. Keep an eye on the vehicles you have available to choose a commercial truck that's appropriate for the job. Generally, smaller trucks are more aerodynamic and fuel-efficient than larger builds. Scheduling trips based on the size of a shipment makes your fleet operations more eco-friendly.

Fleet managers are also responsible for deciding how many trucks are necessary for an operation. If certain trucks are gas guzzlers or you are downsizing, sell used models to fund alternative fuel conversions. Your existing fleet may be eligible for modifications that shrink your company's carbon footprint even further.

It's vital to know where your company's investments are at all times. Rand McNally Fleet enables fleet management personnel to track the location of commercial trucks through a convenient portal. Pair our cloud-based software with our electronic fleet solutions to stay in the know. Organize travel routes from a vehicle's current location or determine if another vehicle is better suited for the delivery due to planned maintenance.

5. Use Fleet Management Software and Telematics

The right fleet management software lets you monitor driver behaviors, vehicle performance, and other data. Use fleet telematics to your benefit as you come up with a fleet sustainability strategy and limit spending. Adopting new technology for your fleet business eliminates the need for written logs, and you can base your green fleet initiatives on accurate reports generated by your staff and commercial vehicles.

Rand McNally Fleet sells telematics solutions compatible with trucks, cars, buses, and the automobiles you use daily. Our fleet management software works with plug-and-play devices to help you track your progress with decreasing emissions. You can also be with all of your drivers simultaneously. Send messages when performance reports are unusual and inquire about the condition of a vehicle to stop leaks or schedule repairs.

Make Your Fleet More Sustainable With Our Products

We have more than 80 years of experience designing products for commercial transportation professionals. Utilize our electronic logging solutions to start reducing the environmental impact of your fleet today. Browse our full suite of trucking solutions online now. You can also contact us for more information about pricing and getting started.