The social house regeneration specialist took the decision to update its fleet following an internal review that showed a switch to newer, greener models would produce considerable cost and emission savings.
Under the first phase, the company has added more than 30 new vehicles – incorporating 20 Ford Transit vans, nine Ford Fiesta 1.6 EcoBoost cars and six Fiat Doblo Cargo Maxi 1.6 MultiJet vans – for its customer care team, site managers and contractors.
Phase two for the next 40 vehicles is set for delivery in September and in total, a mixture of 130 cars and vans will be added to the fleet over the next two years. Each new vehicle is being fitted with the GreenRoad measurement programme that highlights good driving behaviour through a traffic light system and aims to create safer, more carbon-efficient driving that also reduces road risks.
When all vehicles have been rolled out, the intention is to introduce a regular incentive scheme to reward those drivers receiving the best scores.
Vicky Lee, quality and environmental manager at Forrest, said: ‘Sustainability may be a buzz word for some companies but for Forrest it runs through everything we do, from the environmental building works we provide to how we physically deliver our services. With the first intake of vehicles we’re making a strong start to revitalising our fleet and creating a truly efficient operation.’