WIREDGOV

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has yesterday launched a major campaign aimed at improving the way the public sector manages 'grey' fleet - employee-owned vehicles used for work related journeys. The campaign aims to raise the profile of the issues and opportunities presented by managing grey fleet, as well as helping organisations and employees adopt safer, more cost effective and sustainable forms of travel.

The OGC will be showcasing its best practice toolkits and online support at the first ever national conference on managing grey fleet in the public sector on 25th November and during a series of regional road shows and sector specific workshops. It has also published two new information pamphlets Grey fleet: Improving your carbon, cost and care and Grey fleet: Is your organisation safe from prosecution? to further raise the awareness of the support available.

The OGC is looking to increase the number of public sector organisations engaging with its Grey Fleet improvement programme and online community. Evidence suggests grey fleet makes up around 57% of total road mileage used by the public sector. It is estimated that reducing grey fleet mileage by 1,000,000 miles could unlock an estimated £250,000 in cash savings and reduce CO2 emissions by over 240 tonnes.

Speaking about the initiative, the Government's Chief Sustainability Officer William Jordan, said:

"Small, simple improvements in grey fleet management can collectively make big differences. Our toolkits support the public sector's better management of employee welfare, and can lead to significant reductions in cost and carbon emissions. I would urge all managers responsible for this particular area of public sector expenditure to ensure effective measures are in place to maximise efficiencies, and safeguard staffs' wellbeing."

Among other things, the campaign aims to help organisations adopt ways to eliminate unnecessary travel, transfer existing mileage to alternative forms of travel that are safer and more sustainable, as well as ensure policies are in place to check drivers are using appropriately maintained vehicles, and have appropriate insurance and driving documents.

The OGC's collaborative procurement fleet project last year saved over £8m for public sector organisations through grey fleet management projects. Grey fleet vehicles are generally older than company passenger fleet cars and are known to contribute the bulk of the road transport CO2 emissions in some organisations. Tackling grey fleet contributes towards achieving CO2 reduction targets.

To find out more about the grey fleet campaign, please visit the OGC website.

Notes to editors

About the grey fleet campaign

The "grey fleet" project is all about working with public sector organisations to raise the profile of the "grey fleet" as well as help them run initiatives aimed at reducing the number of business miles driven by employees in their own vehicles.  There are at least three good reasons for organisations to reduce this kind of travel;

CARE: The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 which came in to force in April 2008 created a new offence where death is caused by a gross breach of duty of care by senior management. This means that where it can be proved that senior management are responsible for a gross breach of duty of care relating to an employee driving for work and that death has resulted from this breach, penalties can be applied including unlimited fines and publicity orders.

In addition to this the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 imposes on employers a statutory duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. This is relevant in relation to "Grey Fleet" as this statutory duty would apply when employees are undertaking driving for work

While it is possible to manage "grey fleets" effectively, many organisations in both the public and private sectors struggle to do so, on grounds of resource, expertise and the greater difficulty in monitoring vehicles not directly owned or managed by the organisation.

CARBON: There is increasing focus on how sustainable organisations run their operations and the need to reduce the impact these operations have on the environment. Further more government has set targets to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 26% by 2020 relative to 1990 levels  Grey fleet vehicles are generally older than company passenger fleet cars and are known to contribute the bulk of the road transport CO2 emissions in some organisations. Tackling grey fleet will help reducing your organisations carbon footprint and contribute to towards achieving CO2 reduction targets.

COST: Although not usually a prime motivator for a "grey fleet" project - there is also a cash benefit.  Grey fleet mileage re-imbursement rates are normally considerably higher than alternative modes of travel and a focus on grey fleet helps employees make consious decisions about the journeys they make. This typically results in a reduction in unnecessary business journeys and reduces the strain on travel budgets. 

Grey fleet projects managed under the collaborative fleet procurement project saved over £8m for public sector organisations in 2008/2009 - with more set to follow in 2009 and beyond.

About the grey fleet toolkit:

To help organisations tackle grey fleet the OGC, working with a number of public sector organisations has developed a grey fleet toolkit to help users embarking on tackling grey fleet.  The grey fleet toolkit contains:

• A sample business case
• A travel decision tree
• A sample travel policy
• Grey fleet best practice paper

To request a copy of the toolkit please send an email to: greyfleet@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

About OGC

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help government deliver best value from its spending. The OGC works with central government departments and other public sector organisations to ensure the achievement of six key goals:

• Delivery of value for money from third party spend;     
• Delivery of projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits;    
• Getting the best from the government's £30bn estate;    
• Improving the sustainability of the government estate and operations, including reducing carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2010-11, through stronger performance management and guidance;    
• Helping achieve delivery of further government policy goals, including innovation, equality, and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs);    
• And driving forward the improvement of central government capability in procurement, project and programme management, and estates management through the development of people skills, processes and tools.

OGC provides policy standards and guidance on best practice in procurement, projects and estate management, and monitors and challenges departments' performance against these standards, grounded in an evidence base of information and assurance. It promotes and fosters collaborative procurement across the public sector to deliver better value for money and better public services; and it provides innovative ways to develop government's commercial and procurement capability, including leadership of the Government Procurement Service.

Media contact:
Michael Dunning, Media Relations Manager, OGC
T: 020 7271 1318
M: 07771 815245
E: michael.dunning@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

Contact details:
OGC Service Desk
Tel: 0845 000 4999
E-mail: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk