Fleets should focus on operational efficiency to unlock immediate carbon reductions from the vehicles they already have on the road rather than waiting for policy certainty or vehicle replacement cycles to start cutting emissions.

The advice comes from fleet technology specialist Lightfoot, which highlights that tailpipe emissions can be slashed significantly right now simply by changing how existing vans are managed and driven.

The call to action arrives as electric van adoption continues to lag well behind the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate trajectory. Despite record registrations in September, electric vans accounted for just 9.6% of the market – leaving the year-to-date market share at 10.8%, less than half of the 24% target originally set for 2026.

With electric van uptake still running well behind the ZEV mandate trajectory, the Government has opened a consultation on the future operation of the mandate, including its annual targets and potential alternative approaches, which closes on 23 October.

For fleet technology company Lightfoot, the uncertainty surrounding the pace of electrification highlights an opportunity that operators should not overlook: reducing emissions from the vehicles already on the road.

One major UK food retailer using Lightfoot has already saved more than 2,000 tonnes of CO2 by improving the efficiency of the fleet it operates today.

The retailer’s result, achieved without changing the make-up of its fleet, shows that meaningful emissions reductions do not need to depend entirely on waiting for a wholesale vehicle replacement programme.

Richard Parker, partnerships manager at Lightfoot and vice chair of the AFP’s Decarbonisation Committee, said: “Electrification remains fundamental to fleet decarbonisation, but it isn’t the only lever available to operators.

“Too often, decarbonisation is framed as a single asset decision: what vehicle are we going to buy next? The reality is that a fleet’s emissions are also shaped by how vehicles are operated every day.

“Vehicle condition, tyre pressure, unnecessary weight, idling and, critically, the way vehicles are driven all affect the amount of fuel or energy a fleet consumes. Those are opportunities available now, regardless of how quickly individual vehicles can be replaced.”

Across hundreds or thousands of vehicles and millions of annual miles, relatively modest improvements in efficiency can compound into significant reductions in fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions.

Lightfoot’s wider customer data shows an average 15% improvement in fuel efficiency through driver coaching. Drivers who actively engage with the Lightfoot app can achieve a further 7% improvement.

The same principle applies as fleets introduce electric vehicles. In one deployment with a major UK energy supplier, improving driver efficiency increased EV range by 17%, demonstrating that operational efficiency can help fleets get more from electric vehicles as well as reduce fuel consumption in ICE fleets.

David Savage, chief revenue officer at Lightfoot, said: “Whatever the Government decides about future [ZEV mandate] sales trajectories, it doesn’t change the opportunity available to commercial fleets right now.

“Fleets cannot necessarily control when the right electric vehicle becomes available or when an existing vehicle reaches the end of its replacement cycle. They can control how efficiently the vehicles they already operate are maintained and driven.

“This is not an argument against electrification or a reason to slow down the transition. It is an argument for recognising that decarbonisation should not be placed on hold while fleets wait for the next vehicle order.

“The most successful fleets will be those that do both: transition to zero-emission vehicles where operationally and commercially viable, while continuing to reduce the emissions of every vehicle already on the road.”