Leasedrive Velo Blog

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

So three out of four Londoners oppose the proposed rise in the congestion charge. Hardly surprising, given it was a poll commissioned by Porsche.

Since three-quarters of Londoners do not drive around in gas-guzzlers, the proposal to hit drivers of vehicles emitting more than 225g of CO2 per kilometre with a charge of £25 per day is hardly likely to affect most pockets. In fact, if implemented, quite the reverse, as on the flip side of the coin low-emitting vehicles, those producing 120g/km or less, will be able to enter the capital free.

Guess what, most urban dwellers, opt for smaller cars these days! And Londoners would benefit from cleaner air if some of these gas-guzzling vehicles were driven off the capital’s streets.

In fact, the Mayor of London’s office has advised that 80 per cent of vehicles within the congestion charge zone would be unaffected by the changes which are due to come into effect on October 27.

Where does 80% square up with 75%? Bias or what!

Talking of the environment, a recent study indicates most companies’ green fleet policies are aimed at improving their corporate image rather than actually reducing their all-important carbon footprint.

Six out of 10 agreed that image was the main driving force with nearly half also advising it was to reduce cost.

Our friend Nigel Underdown at the Energy Saving Trust is quoted as saying there is a very strong business case for an environmental fleet policy in terms of cost and image. Indeed, like Ken Livingstone, we need to see more companies walk the talk.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Has Porsche lost touch with reality? I just can’t believe it has applied for a judicial review of Ken Livingston’s planned new £25 congestion charge for gas-guzzlers. It seems 44 out of the marque’s 46-model line-up are set to be clobbered. According to Porsche Cars GB MD, Andy Goss it could cause a mass exodus of high earners from the capital! Oh, yes!

Quite frankly, I can’t believe a company of Porsche’s standing could stoop so low. It has a well-earned reputation for producing some of the best and most practical sports cars in the world. Its record at Le Mans is second to none, sealed in the Group C fuel-efficiency era.

Given its reputation for engineering excellence, why can’t it just knuckle down to the challenge of producing a high performance package that is also energy efficient and more friendly to the environment. If the brilliant minds at Weissach cannot rise to the challenge, I don’t know who can. At any one time, some of the biggest names in the automotive world are clients at the research and development facility outside Stuttgart.

Personally, I think the wheels fell off the Porsche wagon, in terms of corporate social responsibility, when they came out with one of the ugliest cars on the road today, the Porsche Cayenne, which even in its current guise cannot manage 20 mpg while pumping out a whopping 358g of CO2 per kilometre. Surely, if there was ever a time for Porsche to demonstrate its engineering prowess, it was in designing a four-wheel drive Chelsea tractor that actually pioneered fuel efficiency rather than registered one of the worst fuel economy figures on the planet.

Sorry, Porsche, you are shooting yourself in the foot. The world is changing and you need to change with it.

However, it would seem Porsche is not entirely alone. According to a latest You Gov Stone survey for KPMG, big business itself admits it is slow to meet the challenges of climate change. As a key issue, climate change has risen from 52% to 85% in the last six months, according to a poll of 200 corporate leaders but only 22% were aiming to be carbon neutral. Apparently, they still expect Government to do more to educate them.

This runs counter to our own experience of large and small companies who seem to be taking the matter very seriously with more and more companies looking to establish carbon neutrality for their fleets.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

The first thorough investigation into biofuel carbon budgets has revealed that growing crops for biofuels results in more carbon dioxide being released in to the atmosphere than absorbed!

Biofuels are no longer flavour of the month. The first thorough investigation into biofuel carbon budgets has revealed that growing crops for biofuels results in more carbon dioxide being released in to the atmosphere than absorbed!

The negative balance backs up the view of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, which stated recently that plans to increase biofuels will do our planet more harm than good and should be scrapped. Interesting that our MPs in Westminster were on the mark this time.

Two separate studies, published in the journal Science last week, show that various biofuel crops grown around the world to provide a green alternative to oil-based fossil fuels release far more carbon dioxide into the air than can be absorbed by growing the plants.

The scientists contend that in some cases it would take several centuries to balance out the carbon debt and the calculation does not take into account the habitat destruction caused by having to cultivate the crops in the first place. The worst case was found to be in Indonesia where it would take 423 years to pay off the carbon debt of converting peat lands for palm plant cultivation. In the Amazon, the scientists determined the deforestation for soybean crop growing would require 319 years to cover carbon debt payments.

Globally, conversions of land for biofuel production result in between 17 and 420 times more carbon dioxide released in to the atmosphere than the annual savings from replacing fossil fuels. Forest, grass and peat lands store a surprising amount of carbon so converting them appears to be maybe the world’s biggest environmental sleight of hand. Even the EU is apparently now having second thoughts about getting 10% of transport fuel from crops by 2020.

All the above demonstrates that besides global carbon trading, we need a scientifically-backed carbon certification and sustainability standard, which can be applied in managing our global fuel requirements.

Scientific research indicates biofuels are not the answer to all our problems, however attractive they may have seemed at the outset. Besides removing forest, grass and peat lands and generating higher carbon dioxide emissions, biofuel production is also resulting in higher food prices, which is driving up global poverty.

Never has there been a more urgent need for a global strategy on the environment.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

I always thought Tony Blair was Big Brother. Who didn’t? He was a control freak.

Now it seems that the country with more CCTV cameras per head of the population is going one more step down the Big Brother route. Roll back 1984! We now learn that CCTV cameras outside London are to be used by English councils to enforce illegal parking. Before long, they’ll be watching our every move and fining us for walking across the road when the ‘man’ is red not ‘green’. Actually, I’m all for cameras that catch drivers going through red lights, especially at pedestrian crossings, but if we’re not careful we’ll soon be afraid to cough without a camera’s permission. As highlighted in BusinessCar, the prospects present a logistical nightmare for those responsible for fleets. Maybe they should mount cameras in company cars to monitor business drivers’ every move!

One thing’s for sure, there needs to be increased monitoring of MPs. Currently, they appear to be getting away with murder. Senior Tory MP, Derek Conway was suspended for paying his son £44,000 for “research work” while he was a full-time student. Bring back the stocks and let’s publicly humiliate those that seek to swindle honest hard-working taxpayers. It seems MPs’ salaries can be multiplied by a factor of three with some creative accounting. It’s certainly about time MPs became more accountable, for both their expenses and their actions.

Ending on a more positive note, it’s good to see the Government is keen on promoting car sharing. Its first survey reveals this is on the increase although only 1% of respondents participate in a formal company run scheme. An amazing 61% had participated in an informal car sharing arrangement in the previous month and a quarter stated that this had been work-related. Reducing the number of car journeys is a priority to save on costs and emissions for fleet managers so more formal car sharing arrangements should be the order of the day. Also with increased pressure on car parking spaces, car sharing to and from work makes eminent sense.