Geotab Inc. (Geotab) announced it has released the results of its 2023 survey of U.S. fleet professionals.

The study, conducted with Bobit Research Group, explored how organizations in the transportation sector are progressing on their sustainability plans, amid increasing pressure to address climate change.

More than half of those surveyed anticipate their customers will demand an increase in fleet sustainability initiatives in order to continue to do business with them over the next one to three years, according to the study.

"Transportation is one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, and fleet managers have an essential role in tackling the challenge of carbon reduction and supporting the achievement of their organization’s sustainability goals,” said Neil Cawse, CEO of Geotab. “By leveraging quality data intelligence for decision making, measurement, and reporting, fleet managers can have a significant impact on guiding sustainability actions that reduce cost, improve performance and create a better planet.”

Sustainability Benefits the Bottom Line

When citing key hesitations to starting sustainability actions, the top three reasons included overall cost, lack of data, and differing priorities.

However, 69% of fleet managers executing sustainability plans reported that fleet sustainability data helped reduce operating costs in the past year, highlighting how those that take action see bottom-line benefits within a short period. 

Majority of Fleets Plan to Invest More in Sustainability 

In a recent global survey of 3,000 CEOs, more than 80% expect investments in sustainability to deliver higher business results over the next five years.

Geotab’s “Greening the Fleet'' survey revealed the same confidence, with 66% of fleet managers responding they plan to invest more in sustainability initiatives over the next three years to meet customer and organization requirements, while only 3% plan to invest less.

Reliable Data is Critical for Regulatory Reporting

Globally, 51% of CEOs consider sustainability a top challenge, as they face increasing pressure from boards and investors to take action.

Currently, 73% of fleet professionals surveyed use a fleet management solution and telematics data insights to track and manage the sustainability of their fleet, but only 24% of fleet professionals are leveraging telematics data to support regulatory reporting.

With increasing regulatory pressure for accelerating action in carbon reduction, there is a clear opportunity to leverage data insights for transparent reporting, while reducing the risk of “greenwashing” challenges.

Fleet EV Transition is Underway

Fleet electrification is increasing at a rapid pace. S&P Global Platts Analytics has noted light-duty electric vehicle sales reached a record high of 6.3M units in 2021 up 102% year-over-year.

Of the fleet professionals surveyed by Geotab, 54% have electric vehicles already in their fleet or on order.

The survey also revealed that fleets that have started on their sustainability journey are already seeing environmental and social benefits, including reduced fuel use, CO2 emissions, and idling. As they continue to follow data-driven sustainable fleet practices and electrify, they may gain increasing ROI.