7 ESG practices to start including in your fleet

ESG practices are becoming increasingly common in fleets and transport. It is therefore essential to know what these practices are and which ones can actually be used in your company without turning ESG into a generic promise.

It is also important to assess the different areas of your fleet to understand the main departments with shortcomings, risks and a need for process optimization.

ESG addresses different aspects: actions that are sustainable and beneficial for reducing environmental impact (Environment), promoting mental and physical health at work (Social), and achieving organization, transparency and operational efficiency in management (Governance). This division relates to corporate responsibilities in human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.

Therefore, although ESG practices are more commonly associated with the environment, they should also relate to the other principles. Here are 7 examples to start applying in your operations:

• Prioritizing workplace health and safety;
• Emissions monitoring;
• Preventive and predictive maintenance;
• Smart technologies;
• Sustainable vehicles;
• Waste reduction;
• Company positioning.

Watch the video (video in Portuguese):

Prioritizing workplace health and safety

ESG practices also address companies’ social aspects, requiring attention to the social side of your fleet. This means caring for employees by maintaining a pleasant, clean and safe work environment.

In addition, fleets and transport operations need to prioritize the health of drivers who face long working hours. In Brazil, the driver law (in Portuguese) was developed in this context and provides for accurate control and recording of working hours, as well as addressing safety, sanitation and comfort conditions at professional drivers’ waiting, rest and break facilities.

It is essential to know this legislation in detail and set schedules, breaks and routines that prioritize drivers’ physical and mental health. In practice, ESG is not limited to publishing goals: it also depends on processes that help protect those who carry out the operation every day.

Emissions monitoring

One of the main environmental challenges fleets face is the emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere from burning vehicle fuel. To understand your company’s real impact and assess the results of the ESG actions you will implement, it is important to have ways to monitor your fleet’s emissions.

This can be done through specific sensors and systems connected to vehicles, allowing you to keep track not only of pollutant emissions, but also of data on each vehicle’s fuel consumption and engine efficiency in each operation. In addition, greenhouse gas inventory standards and tools, such as those associated with the GHG Protocol, help companies organize information to calculate emissions and structure management and reduction strategies.

Preventive and predictive maintenance

Preventive and predictive maintenance have similar purposes: identifying problems at an early stage.

The difference lies in how this happens, because in preventive maintenance the work is more manual, involving a driver inspection using a checklist and, in some cases, opening a Work Order. In other words, problems are detected only once a human can perceive them.

In predictive maintenance, on the other hand, the entire process takes place through sensor and tag technology installed on vehicles. This means problems are identified at stages even earlier than human perception, as sensors take readings and detect irregular changes in vibration, temperature, engine oil level and other details.

Either way, both types of maintenance are important and contribute to implementing ESG practices and sustainable maintenance in your fleet.

Smart technologies (or Artificial Intelligence)

In addition to the technologies mentioned earlier, which enable harmful gas emissions to be monitored and vehicle mechanical problems to be assessed, there are other alternatives that can be implemented in a fleet as ESG practices.

Using artificial intelligence systems in different fleet areas can be very advantageous for advancing sustainability in transport. For example, using AI in route planning helps select shorter routes or those that have less impact on vehicles, such as better-maintained roads, among other criteria.

This not only reduces fuel consumption and emissions, but also optimizes the use of fleet resources, aligning with ESG principles of operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Other aspects can also relate to smart technologies, such as expense control, dashboard creation, data analysis and report generation, for example. The main point is to use technology to turn scattered records into more consistent decisions, while remembering that each indicator needs to be connected to a feasible operational action.

Sustainable vehicles

One very common corporate ESG practice is adopting sustainable vehicles. These can include both more modern, economical models and hybrid or electric options.

It is important to understand which alternative best fits your operations and how this choice will change the fleet’s routine. With this advance planning, it will be easier and faster to make the changes and provide the training needed to use the new vehicles.

Waste reduction

Fleet waste management covers everything from fluids, oils and lubricants to items such as tires, which also need disposal when they reach the end of their useful life.

To minimize environmental impact and have a consistent ESG strategy (in Portuguese) for environmental protection, you should understand the best way to dispose of these waste materials and their packaging, which is often contaminated by the products. In Brazil, the National Solid Waste Policy includes reducing the volume and hazardousness of hazardous waste among its objectives and also addresses developing and improving clean technologies to minimize environmental impacts.

Company positioning

Company positioning is a way to demonstrate to your customers, employees and suppliers your commitment to adopting environmental, social and governance practices that promote transformation and a positive impact on the company and the world.

By implementing measures such as emissions reduction, adopting sustainable technologies and efficient waste management, you are building an identity as a sustainable fleet, aligned with ESG principles and practices and contributing to a more responsible, environmentally balanced future.

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