In partnership with the Sierra Club, vehicle management firm Donlen Corp. is offering a program to commercial and municipal vehicle fleets that helps monitor and reduce their carbon emissions.
“Our new Carbon Calculator tool, which we tailored for this program, provides a full picture of carbon costs and economics for the vehicle fleet community,” said Gary Rappeport, CEO of Northbrook, IL-based Donlen. “Fleet managers cannot make effective decisions in a vacuum. Simply looking at isolated carbon data will not provide the complete picture.”
Rappeport said Donlen’s tool allows vehicle fleet managers to accurately determine and compare global warming and air pollution emissions, as well as fuel and maintenance costs for all types of vehicles. For example, the tool calculates that a hybrid vehicle can cost 22% less to operate and emits 46% less global warming pollution than the average mid-size sedan over a three-year period. In addition, the tool provides a financial analysis of carbon output and how it affects the organization’s bottom line, he said.
“This online tool will encourage local governments and private businesses to transform their vehicle fleets into green fleets,” said Glen Brand, director of the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities campaign, which works to get cities across the country to implement clean energy solutions such as energy efficiency, cleaner vehicles and renewable power. “Green fleets are an important and practical strategy to reducing energy costs, global warming pollution, and our country's dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.
