The council, which runs a fleet of 380 vehicles with operating costs of more than £2m, invested in a fleet management system from TomTom Business Solutions in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions by a third by 2015.

Rodney Thornton, the council's head of Fleet and Waste Services, said the fuel cost savings were a consequence of 'improvements to the way council vehicle operators carry out their duties'.

'In the longer term it will also reduce service and maintenance costs, extend the working life of a number of vehicles and decrease the production of CO2,' he added.

The council, which installed TomTom LINK300 tracking units in 260 of its vehicles, faces its stringent carbon reduction commitment as a result of signing Scotland's Climate Change Declaration. This recognises that local authorities play a key role in a collective response to the challenge of climate change, and publicly demonstrates their commitment to action.

'The council needed controlling mechanisms to regulate and influence the sustainable use of fuel,' said Tom Thomson, managing director of Vtec Solutions Ltd, the company responsible for the installation. 'It was clear that many drivers, however unwittingly, were wasting valuable resources because of the way they drive.

'Reducing average speed and instances of harsh braking and cornering delivers direct, measurable reductions in fuel consumption, servicing and maintenance costs and is proven to reduce accidents.'

The council is due to roll out the TomTom system to more of its 380-strong fleet in coming months and is also investing in its ecoPLUS device, which feeds data directly from a vehicle's engine. This gives managers a real-time view of the fuel efficiency of every fleet vehicle, showing where and when fuel was wasted and enabling vehicles to be accurately benchmarked.