ESG – BEST COMPANIES IN EQUIPMENT FINANCE

Fleet Advantage credits its in-house innovation, leadership vision and company focus on environmental preservation as a wake-up call to many stakeholders, clients and other organizations in the equipment finance space.

ESG-Focused Products and Tools
The company’s actions and products highlight this focus on ESG — such as its EV Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool. This tool assists Fleet’s customers in determining whether they should transition heavy-duty trucks from diesel internal combustion to zero emission “green trucks,” creating a reliance on companies like Fleet Advantage to lead the charge in the global mission to reduce emissions and phase carbon from the industry.

Beyond heavy-duty vehicles, through analytics, the company has diversified its portfolio of asset types that complement its customers’ supply chains including EV yard tractors and trailers, and cargo and transit vans. The combination of data analytics and flexible lease finance options are proving to be a key strategy in helping companies determine the right adoption method for these newer vehicles.

Fleet Advantage has also introduced emissions studies and an innovative replacement program with financial flexibility in mind, called ExchangeIT, that made it beneficial to operate new equipment. This program helped fleets meet new GHG-1 federal mandate standards and calculated fuel economy gains at 2.5% MPG and CO2 reductions.

Creating Industry-Wide ESG Value
Fleet Advantage’s commitment to ESG goals doesn’t stop at its product offerings or leadership vision. The company sees itself in a unique position to create ESG value through the development of finance solutions that create positive environmental impacts. A candid assessment of a prospective clients’ existing value proposition, industry presence and associated overall transportation strategies provide an opportunity to rewrite strategy to benefit the environment. A path to creating long-lasting value involves a topdown approach within all organizations for holistic objectives to satisfy ESG goals as well as the company’s bottom line.

Educating Beyond the Corporate Level
Corporate fleets are illustrating how important it is to invest in educating employees about sustainability and create evolving systems and procurement strategies. Fleet Advantage believes ESG initiatives require specialized knowledge, such as talking to suppliers about sustainable sourcing or using eco-efficiency resources to evaluate a new product. This is how equipment finance companies can take the lead and become the guiding hand for ESG goals and lasting success of carbon emissions reduction.

The benefits of achieving fleet sustainability goals extend beyond environmental conservation, including cost savings, improved brand reputation and enhanced competitiveness in the market. By prioritizing
sustainability and utilizing data as a powerful tool, businesses can create a greener, more efficient and future-ready fleet.

Getting Ahead of the Curve
Almost every industry sector is feeling the effects of a heightened ESG focus. While these trends are imminent, several companies are getting ahead of the curve in adopting strategies to reduce their carbon footprint, position themselves in the ongoing need for qualified talent and finance the equipment necessary to achieve a net-zero carbon future.

For the U.S.’s corporate fleets, organizations operating heavy-duty truck fleets continue to ponder the right emissions reduction strategy. The economics of electric battery technology and hydrogen may not be a realistic option yet. However, by shortening asset life cycles of Class 8 heavy duty vehicles, optimizing vehicle specification to be more fuel-efficient and aligning with the duty cycle as well as geographical locale, analytics-driven business intelligence is driving better truck asset management decisions to execute on the environmental criteria through a continuous reduction in emissions, fuel consumption and waste oil. •