This guidance applies to vehicles such as courtesy cars that your business owns or leases as well as vehicles that you repair and maintain for your customers.
Emissions from vehicle exhausts are a significant source of air pollution. Air pollutants in vehicle emissions include:
- carbon dioxide
- carbon monoxide
- fine particles, eg PM10, PM2.5
- nitrogen oxides
- unburnt hydrocarbons.
You should try to limit the vehicle emissions produced by your business as they may:
- lead to ill health, such as respiratory problems, in your staff and the public
- cause a nuisance to your neighbours
- contribute to roadside pollution levels in urban areas
- contribute to climate change.
What you must do
Meet requirements for your vehicles
Make sure that your vehicles comply with emission limits and weight regulations. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) carries out roadside checks to enforce these standards.
Ensure your vehicles comply with exhaust emission standards as specified in the:
- Ministry of Transport (MOT) test scheme for motor vehicles
- Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) scheme, or
- Public Service Vehicle (PSV) scheme.
These schemes are operated by:
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
Driver and Vehicle Agency (Northern Ireland): Vehicle testing
Check if you drive in low emission zones or air quality management areas
Your local council monitors air quality in your area. If the air quality exceeds a certain threshold, it may declare an area to be an Air Quality Management Area. Often these areas are declared due to emissions from transport.
Some local councils are introducing low emission zones to reduce pollution in urban centres. These are areas where you may have to pay a daily charge if your vehicle doesn’t meet certain emission standards or qualify for an exemption. Check with your local council to find out if there are any low emission zones or air quality management areas in your area.
Contact your local council
You can also search for air quality management areas on the Defra website.
Defra: Local air quality management areas
You must turn off your engine if your vehicle is stationary to reduce exhaust emissions and noise. You can be prosecuted or fined by some local councils if you leave your engine running while stationary for more than a few minutes.
Good practice
When buying new company vehicles, select models with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and high fuel efficiency.
You can find out the fuel efficiency of a vehicle from the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) or Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd (SMMT).
VCA: New car fuel consumption and exhaust emissions
VCA: New van fuel consumption and exhaust emissions
SMMT: CO2 emissions data for all cars registered from January 1997
You can benefit from tax breaks by buying low emission vehicles.
Business Link (England): Tax breaks for low emission vehicles
NI Business Info (Northern Ireland): Tax breaks for low emission vehicles
Business Gateway (Scotland): Tax breaks for low emission vehicles
Flexible Support for Business (Wales): Tax breaks for low emission vehicles
You can reduce your vehicle emissions and possibly reduce running costs by using alternative fuels, such as gas or electrical hybrids.
VCA: Cars and fuel options
ECOtravel: Converting fleet to run on alternative fuels
You can fit older vehicles with devices that reduce their emissions. This can be a cheaper alternative to upgrading engines.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) reward businesses that use cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. Road tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are linked to the car's exhaust emissions, particularly its CO2 emissions. You can get more details from the HMRC.
HMRC: Company cars
Service all your vehicles regularly.
Make sure tyres are correctly inflated and remove roof bars and boxes when they are not needed.
Remove any excess weight by only carrying what you need.
Keep speed down. Driving at 50-60 mph produces the lowest emissions. Driving over 70mph rapidly increases vehicle emissions. It can cost up to 15% more in fuel to drive at 70mph compared with 50mph.
Keep the vehicle moving if possible. Starting and stopping uses more fuel than a vehicle moving steadily.
Use air-conditioning and other electrical devices sparingly as this increases fuel consumption.
Monitor your fuel consumption to help detect problems early.
Pre-plan delivery routes to maximise the efficient use of vehicles.
Avoid using vehicles for short journeys. Encourage your staff to use public transport, cycle or walk.
Reduce the impact of necessary journeys by using less-congested routes, avoiding peak travel times and encouraging car sharing.
