Esh Group is expanding its anti-idling campaign after seeing an 84% reduction in time fleet vehicles have sat idle during a four-month trial period.
As part of its Even Greener strategy – which sets out plans for reducing carbon emissions throughout the business and its operations – Esh used 18 HGV tippers from its fleet to understand the carbon emitted from idling, putting measures in place to actively encourage drivers to think about their impact on the environment.
With true idling being measured as vehicles being stationary for more than two minutes, the 18 vehicles reduced their idling time from a combined 392 hours in July 2024, down to just 60 hours in November – an 84% idling-time reduction, which equates to 15 return trips from Esh House to London’s Trafalgar Square!
Following the trial’s success, Esh is now gearing up to roll idling monitoring and education out across its 258-strong fleet of vehicles, which will contribute to a further reduction in carbon emissions and improved fuel efficiency across operations.
Brian Wray, Plant Director, has championed the initiative alongside Esh’s Workshop and Transport Managers. He said: “The transformation has been remarkable, thanks to the outstanding commitment of our drivers, who embraced the guidance and fully supported our efforts.
“Before implementing the anti-idling initiative, idling time from the tippers was consistently higher than 400 hours on average each month. This is a great example of what can be achieved when considering our impact on the environment, and now the hard work begins as we continue the wider rollout across the business.”
Commercial fleet across the business have been fitted with real time telematics to assist with the monitoring of the time vehicles are sat stationary, with in-cab system alerts advising drivers to turn off the engine if it has been stationary for than two minutes.
A Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) study found that it can cost up to 3p for every minute spent idling. It also found that idling for just 30 seconds produces twice as much pollution and wastes more fuel than switching off and restarting an engine.
With the 18 tippers showing an 85% reduction in idling from December 2023 (344 hours) to December 2024 (29 hours), Esh’s anti-idling implementation will now be rolled out across the group. The next division to join the campaign will be Esh Construction’s Runway 1 team in a bid to reduce idling and carbon emissions during work delivered on Northumbrian Water’s Repairs and Maintenance Framework.
Expansion to the civil engineering, affordable housing and drainage solutions divisions is expected to follow with onsite plant equipment also being looked at. All fleet drivers will sign an anti-idling pledge.
Steven Doran, Esh’s Carbon, Sustainability and Data Manager, said: “We’re on a major learning curve across our sector but we know that education will be a big driver in our ambitions through the next six-to-12 months.
“The 32-tonne tipper wagons we have purchased to replace older fleet vehicles come complete with the latest, most efficient vehicle technology, which allows Esh to record key emissions and MPG metrics which ultimately will support improved environmental efficiencies across the Group.”
Beyond the rollout, HGV Driver David Jackson has taken part in two courses on idling and best practice driving skills with Renault and Scania before returning to Esh Group to train drivers internally. David excelled from the outset of the anti-idling trials and regularly had months where his idling time was zero hours.
David, who has worked in the industry for 35 years, 10 of which were with Esh, said: “It’s great to see Esh putting measures in place to make the fleet eco-friendlier and genuinely a nicer place to work. We have a lot of experienced drivers among our operations but so far, we’ve all learnt some new skills through the course. By driving more efficiently, we’ve not only increased the miles per gallon for the trucks but made the drivers safer on the roads.”
Esh is also exploring greener ways to power its construction sites through a major trial of solar pods. Several sites are currently using hybrid generators or battery storage units to power offices, welfare and toilet facilities, reducing the need to run fossil fuel-powered generators 24/7. From April to November 2024, 16 sites have utilised one of these alternative power solutions, and over 150,000 litres of fuel have been saved as a result. This equates to a saving of more than 470 tCO2e – the equivalent of travelling more than 1.6 million miles in an average diesel car.
The transformation has been remarkable, thanks to the outstanding commitment of our drivers, who embraced the guidance and fully supported our efforts. Before implementing the anti-idling initiative, idling time from the tippers was consistently higher than 400 hours on average each month. This is a great example of what can be achieved when considering our impact on the environment, and now the hard work begins as we continue the wider rollout across the business.”
