The European Clean Vehicle Procurement Guide, part of the new EC-funded Green Fleets project, suggests setting limits of 130g/km of CO2 for cars and 170g/km for vans.

However, Chevin says that this trend has already been underway for some time and that many public sector bodies are already beating these targets.

David Gladding, sales director, said: ‘Having a CO2 ceiling for the vehicles operating on your fleets is a simple but effective means of cutting emissions and improving fleetwide fuel economy, and we have seen it being increasingly being adopted.

‘There is a tool within our FleetWave software that makes this kind of policy very easy to adopt and enforce. Over the last two-three years and certainly during 2014, more and more public sector organisations have been making use of it.

‘We know this strategy works because we use it on our own fleet, enforcing a limit of 120g/km for our vehicles.’

Gladding added that several Chevin customers were also involved in the ECO Fleet Stars Recognition Scheme that is operated by Transport and Travel Research, and which recognises fleets in the UK making environmental commitments.

‘This is certainly an area where public sector fleets of all kinds are making greater and greater moves towards improving their performance, and we are have been helping them through tools available in FleetWave.’