Breedon cuts fleet carbon emissions by 10.9%

The GB materials division of Breedon, which specialises in aggregates and downstream products including asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, and specialist building products, has succeeded in dramatically reducing instances of aggressive and inefficient driving in its fleet. The installation of Lightfoot’s green fleet tech has led to a 12.2% fall in fuel costs, a 10.9% drop in CO2 emissions, and a 24% reduction in pollution caused by vehicle idling.

Following the roll-out of Lightfoot’s in-cab driver coaching technology and rewards platform, Breedon is now on target to reduce fleet CO2 emissions by 1,651 tonnes over the next five years,  equivalent to removing 359 passenger vehicles from the road.

In addition to cutting emissions, Lightfoot has played a key role in enhancing the safety of Breedon’s drivers. Within just one month of being fitted, instances of aggressive driving were cut by 80%, with harsh acceleration falling by 63%, severe braking by 28%, and cornering at speed by 19%.

Installed in its fleet of 380 vans, Lightfoot’s dashboard-mounted driver coaching device provides audible and visual in-cab alerts to keep Breedon’s drivers in the sweet spot of their engine.

Nigel Clamp, head of health and safety at Breedon, said: “As an organisation, we aspire to deliver society with carbon neutral concrete by 2050. We also actively support the Mineral Products Association’s ‘Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero’, which aims to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than the UK concrete and cement industry emits each year.

“To deliver against these ambitious goals, and to hit our own Net Zero by 2050 decarbonisation targets, we are working at every level within the business to identify measures and technology that will enable us to achieve this.

“Within our fleet, we wanted to find a solution that not only enables us to hit these goals, but which also allows us to stay true to our corporate values: creating a workplace where our people feel safe, proud, and motivated to do their best.

Clamp added: “That’s where Lightfoot comes in. By engaging with our drivers and giving them a reason to be smoother, safer, more mindful, and more efficient, we’re not only dramatically cutting emissions, but we’re also lowering the frequency and severity of accidents on the road. That keeps our drivers safer in their daily duties and, in doing so, contributes to lower levels of vehicle wear and tear, and costs associated with vehicle downtime.”

“By routinely recognising our staff, and encouraging positive competition through Lightfoot’s leagues, our drivers are motivated day-in, day-out to be better. That enhances positive competition and driver engagement in a way that has not been possible before, and provides a win-win outcome at every level; from the individual driver through to the environment. As a result, we’ve gone from just 12% of our drivers achieving Elite Driver status during the Lightfoot blind trial period, to 100% consistently hitting that target each and every week. That’s driving big fuel savings and emissions reductions.

“But that’s not all. Lightfoot’s technology also flags engine faults, MOT and tax renewal dates, and provides battery health alerts. These ancillary services allow us to operate our fleet as efficiently as possible, and deal with issues before they become a problem. Combined with impressive driver engagement levels, Lightfoot leaves traditional telematics far behind.”