How can a business that’s all about travel reduce its carbon emissions? Laurence Beck, Managing Director of Parkers Chauffeurs, explains how a combination of approaches has helped their company overcome the carbon-reduction challenges posed by long distance car journeys.

What kind of travel does Parkers Chauffeurs provide, and how is green travel a part of your offer?

When we bought Parkers in 2019, its focus was on corporate travel for business clients and of course, that all but disappeared during the pandemic. We decided to refocus on providing transport for high net worth individuals and celebrities, including musicians and sports stars, which has turned the business around – and part of that has been due to the positive PR we’ve gained for our green initiatives.

As well as being the right thing to do, sustainability is a core part of Parkers’ business strategy, and we are creating brand recognition through this.

Has being a travel-focused business posed particular challenges when cutting carbon emissions?

We’ve introduced both hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs) to our fleet, however, we have to plan very carefully how we use these to avoid any disruption for our clients, particularly on longer journeys.

A vehicle like our electric BMW i7 does over 300 miles on a single charge which is fantastic. But if we’re travelling further than that, we need to factor in the time it takes to recharge a vehicle and the availability of ultra-fast charge points.

However, EVs are fantastic for local journeys and in city centres. They’re a greener option and it’s really important to play a part in improving air quality in our cities.

How have you managed to overcome these challenges?

For us, combining a mix of approaches like carbon offsetting, hybrid and electric vehicles and smart logistics has been the solution. We are also trying to cultivate new behaviours throughout our company to shape a sustainable future - engaging colleagues so they are involved and contribute to our green initiatives is critical.

Within the last year we have heavily invested into our eco-friendly initiatives and introduced more hybrid and fully electric vehicles into our fleet, including the BMW i7, Range Rover and Mercedes Benz models. There’s no other chauffeur company in the North of England that offers a greener fleet.

We’re proud that we were the first chauffeur company in the UK to offset our carbon footprint through a government assured scheme, validated by The Woodland Trust. We’ve now planted over 6,000 trees to compensate for our journeys - a benefit that is passed on to our clients seeking to reduce their own carbon footprint.

And we’ve made substantial financial commitments to upgrading our computer software and vehicle tracking systems. This allows us real-time visibility of where our vehicles are to help us work more efficiently. The logistics of operating a fleet of vehicles is complex – and potentially quite carbon costly - if it is not done well. This system vastly reduces ‘dead miles’, therefore reducing our carbon output, with the added benefit of an improved client experience.

What benefits has carbon reduction led to for you?

Our business strategy is not only about delivering high standards of service with the best fleet of luxury vehicles in the North of England, but also to provide a service with a meaningful difference and lead the way in offering customers the choice of sustainable, luxury transport.

We’ve gained some positive PR for the business, and the fact that we’re working to reduce carbon has played a role in us securing some big contracts as well. For example, we provided vehicles for COP26, using fully electric Mercedes EVQs, and we’ve been part of Rishi Sunak’s security convoy. Clients who are in the public eye need to be seen to be doing their bit to help with sustainability and we tick that box for them.

What advice do you have for other businesses that are looking at their carbon reduction plans?

Do your homework and be mindful that making a major change like switching to EVs takes planning.

Look into the costs involved and see if there are any deals you can take advantage of – like free charging when you buy certain vehicles.

And like us, you might find that combining different methods of carbon reduction is the most effective solution for you.

Contact the North East Growth Hub to find out what programmes of support and funding are available to support business to digitise and reduce carbon emissions.

You can also find more resources in our Net Zero for Businesses toolkit.