Energy Saving Trust

Businesses and public sector organisations across Britain are making major financial savings and reducing their carbon emissions by encouraging their staff to drive smarter. To put organisations and their staff on the road to cutting fuel bills, the Energy Saving Trust runs on-the-road fuel efficient driver training courses, subsidised by Transport Scotland and delivered by experienced fleet driving instructors.

The training takes just 50 minutes and starts and finishes from the workplace so disruption to the working day is minimised.  It is also highly effective:  the first 10,000 drivers to take the course reduced their fuel consumption by an average of approximately 15% after training.  For a car covering 12,000 miles p.a. that equates to an annual saving of £200-250 and a reduction of approximately half a tonne of CO2 emissions.  There’s no limit on the number of places per an organisation, so for large businesses considering training hundreds or even thousands of drivers, the potential savings are massive. 

Experts agree that fuel efficient driving also brings safety benefits and leads to lower accident rates, this is a result of putting greater emphasis on anticipation and reading the road ahead.

With the Energy Saving Trust providing the cars, fuel and insurance as well as the instructors, the training couldn’t be much easier to organise.  It costs just £15+VAT per driver, so could well pay for itself within a few weeks through fuel savings alone.

Each driver completes an identical circuit before and after training and MPG is measured over both laps so drivers can see for themselves what a difference the techniques make.  The fleet manager or key contact receives a summary spreadsheet showing the savings on the day and how these would translate into annual financial and carbon savings.  The figures are tailored according to the drivers’ vehicles and stated annual mileages. 

Among the organisations that have introduced the Energy Saving Trust’s fuel efficient driving course to staff are the Shop Direct Group and South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Shop Direct Group
Shop Direct Group is the UK’s leading online and home shopping retailer, with annual sales of around £1.5 billion and five million customers.  When the company offered Energy Saving Trust fuel efficient driving training to its head office and call centre staff in early 2009, the lessons proved popular and were over-subscribed. 

Phil Spick, Travel Plan Manager at the Liverpool-based organisation, promoted the course to car driving employees after attending an Energy Saving Trust presentation.
Employees commuting largely through urban areas and those clocking up business related journeys were invited to participate in the course.

Mr Spick, who completed the course himself, explained: “These drivers will be the biggest beneficiaries of smarter driving techniques as they undertake a lot of stop-start motoring, which burns the most fuel.”

He added: “Commuting can cost some drivers a lot of money out of their own pocket. Last year’s spike in fuel prices was costly for many people and we are now seeing fuel prices slowly rise again. The cost of commuting can eventually result in businesses losing valued employees. Promoting fuel efficient driving courses as a cost saving measure can only help with staff retention. Drivers reported that after completing the course their anticipation of what was happening on the road ahead signficantly improved. This resulted in smoother driving which not only conserves fuel but also makes them safer on the road.”

Mr Spick said the courses were easy to organise and built on other environmental initiatives the company had already introduced. These include car sharing, a bicycle pool scheme and video conferencing.

Case study: South Cambridgeshire District Council
Employees at South Cambridgeshire District Council achieved an average 18% reduction in fuel consumption after their fuel efficient driving training and with trainees' annual mileages averaging more than 16,000 miles this would translate into average annual fuel savings of £340.

Cerise Bradford, Performance Manager - Planning & Sustainable Communities, was among the employees to complete the course:

“The savings are almost unbelievable. she said “If I hadn’t completed the course I would not have believed that by driving more smoothly and anticipating the road ahead that I would save so much.”

“Drivers were nervous about the course and sceptical as to the claims made about fuel savings averaging 15%. But they took the instructors’ advice on board and the feedback was superb with drivers saying they learned a lot, particularly about looking further along the road to anticipate what’s ahead.”

Complimenting the Energy Saving Trust on the organisation of the programme, Ms Bradford said: “Communication was excellent and employee availability was easily accommodated to fit in with working hours.”

To find out more about the Energy Saving Trust’s Fuel Efficient Driver Training courses call 0845 602 1425, visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/smarterdriving, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it