Environmentally Aware Haulage Operators Can Improve Road Freight Emissions and Cut Costs

UK - ECO Stars the fuel management and operational efficiency support programme, designed as a measure for local authorities to improve local air quality by reducing emissions from heavy duty vehicles, has joined forces with Route Monkey which specialises in transport planning solutions. Together the two believe they can assist HGV and other fleet managers to plan cost and emission reductions and have a real influence on the way companies plan road haulage operations.

Both outfits are concerned with improving the environmental profile of clients, ECO Stars provides advice to commercial fleets on how to reduce environmental impact, achieve financial savings and gain positive recognition. The organisation was created in 2009 to help fleet operators in South Yorkshire to improve their efficiency, reduce fuel use and harmful emissions. Building on that success, ECO Stars has expanded to 18 schemes across the UK, with more in the pipeline. It is open to fleets of all sizes and configurations. Ann Beddoes of Barnsley Metropolitan Council, the scheme manager for ECO Stars said:

“We are delighted to be working with Route Monkey, a company whose services align perfectly with ECO Stars objectives, and we continue to seek out partnerships with organisations to enhance the benefits of the scheme for our members.”

Route Monkey’s algorithms are capable of making millions of calculations in a relatively short space of time, vastly improving on manual transport planning. Its scheduling technology eliminates unnecessary fleet mileage and improves vehicle utilisation, also typically helping to reduce costs by up to 20% and substantially cut carbon emissions. Route Monkey also has unique algorithms for identifying where and how ultra-low carbon vehicles can be deployed, helping to create the fleets of the future. Colin Ferguson, CEO of Route Monkey, commented:

“ECO Stars is a fantastic initiative that has a fantastic membership of public and private sector fleets. By working closely together with ECO Stars we can deliver even greater efficiency savings for these members.”