Fleets urged to prepare for coming ESOS deadline

Businesses need to act now to prepare for the fast-approaching deadline for Phase 2 of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

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Fleets need to audit transport energy usage for HGVs, vans, cars and grey fleet

So says Cenex, which says businesses must ensure that they include the energy used by all vehicles in their fleet within their overall compliance calculations.

The EU-wide ESOS legislation mandates every organisation with over 250 staff or a turnover above €50m needs to assess its overall energy usage and create a plan for improvement in areas of significant consumption. ESOS affects an estimated 10,000 businesses within the UK, who must report compliance to the Environmental Agency by 5 December 2019. Non-compliance risks a fine of up to £50,000.

As part of ESOS, organisations must cover energy usage related to fuel supplied to the company and its employees for business use, provided this is 10% or more of overall energy usage. This means auditing the energy consumption associated with owned/leased HGVs, vans and cars, along with grey fleet vehicles.

To help fleets understand ESOS and how they can meet its requirements, Cenex is running a webinar on 4 July 2019 at 11am. The organisation offers multiple options for assessing transport energy usage and achieving compliance, which will be discussed on the webinar. For the first ESOS deadline in 2015, it delivered audits to numerous clients from a wide range of sectors including logistics/haulage companies, chilled/frozen food delivery, online retailers and the construction industry.

Robert Evans, CEO, Cenex, said: “Assessing energy usage from your fleet for ESOS compliance can seem daunting, but potentially delivers significant benefits in terms of reduced fuel consumption, greater efficiency and lower costs. Fleet managers need to start planning now to ensure compliance across their operations. Our webinar aims to provide the guidance they need to be ready for the deadline.”

Previous energy saving measures identified by Cenex in ESOS fleet audits include changing company car selection processes, better grey fleet management, adopting lightweight van bodies and switching to alternative fuels.

To find out more details on the Cenex ESOS webinar and to book your place, click here.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.