U.K.'s Gloucestershire County Council has significantly reduced its CO2 emissions by adopting a car club program operated by Enterprise Car Club. Over the past six months, the council estimated that it has reduced its vehicle emissions by around two tons of CO2 per month compared to having employees use their privately-owned cars for work journeys. 

Eight dedicated Enterprise Car Club vehicles are now based at the council’s Shire Hall headquarters in Gloucester and more than 450 of the council’s 2,000 employees have signed up to the program. The vehicles include two Nissan LEAF electric cars, three Toyota Prius hybrids, and three Hyundai i20s. 

The introduction of the car club is an extension of a long-term program where Enterprise Rent-A-Car vehicles have been used to lower business mileage, reduce emissions, and improve air quality. 

Enterprise and the council analyzed employee journey patterns and usage to establish if car club rental could be part of a better solution than the so called "grey fleet," where drivers use their personal cars for work journeys and claim for the miles driven. 

The data indicated that a dedicated car club would help to lower vehicle emissions and reduce the council’s risk by ensuring employees always drive modern, well-maintained vehicles for business trips. It would also lessen the need for employees to commute to Shire Hall by car and therefore reduce pressure on parking in the city centre. 

The council has also seen a number of other benefits deriving from the detailed journey and usage data the cars provide, as well as the assurance that vehicles are well-maintained and insured for business use. 

The council sees the car club as an important tool in lowering overall travel costs and employee business mileage. The vehicles are booked and accessed via a mobile app and charged at a pence-per-mile rate lower than that of grey fleet reimbursement.