EcoVoice, Peter Stewart

Being a veteran of a few drive day events, I confidently swaggered up to the Docklands precinct for the Greenfleet Drive day early one fine late October morning. After a preliminary tea, coffee and snack we sat down for a briefing by the CEO Sara Gipton who gave us a bit of an overview of the eleven year Greenfleet story.

It was at this point that we were introduced to the world renowned and fascinating Helen & John Taylor, a couple who between them hold 88 world driving records (42 of these related to fuel efficiency). They have travelled the earth promoting fuel efficient driving and boast an impressive resume of countries visited in the name of reducing emissions.

The Taylors then went on to describe some case studies where they managed to make phenomenal changes to the bottom line of many businesses in Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands and New York. Then came the Taylor's Top Ten Tips for reducing fuel consumption, ranging from common sense driving techniques to more practical solutions involving vehicle performance. For instance, I bet you didn't know that if you drive your car at 110 km/h instead of 100km/h in a 100 zone, you are generally using 20% more fuel. This may not seem like much, but if you are doing a long haul or do lots of country miles then this figure is quite significant.

Anyway after a safety briefing it was time to set off in our low emission vehicles with the destination being Watsons Creek. This is one of the Greenfleet carbon offset destinations in the bushfire devastated Kinglake region. As luck would have it I was paired with John Taylor himself for the first leg of the journey. Sitting in a Mitsubishi ASX manual diesel I took off like I was one of the Dukes of Docklands and was quickly admonished to get the car back on four wheels. I argued that driving a car on two wheels reduced friction coming from the tyres thus reducing fuel consumption. This was quickly refuted and I resumed driving at a more leisurely pace.

I found that driving to reduce fuel consumption really did take some concentration but once you got used to the idea it became second nature. We drove on in convoy and experienced a relaxing journey up to the hills learning different techniques to reduce fuel use. Turning the engine off at traffic lights, using the highest gear possible without labouring the engine, and driving in a calm manner helped to dramatically diminish fuel consumption and probably lowered my blood pressure somewhat. I had been altered from a red faced, fist waving, lane swerving maniac into a courteous and tut tutting picture of serenity.

After arriving at the Watson's Creek offset site (originally a dairy farm) it was immediately obvious how devastating the fires had been the previous year. Fortunately the Greenfleet sector had been spared and the property has since been planted with a variety of endemic plant species to help extend a wild life corridor that traverses into the Great Dividing Range. It is hoped that this revegetated land will once again be assimilated into the surrounding forest structure and help benefit all the organisms that dwell within.

It is at this point that one comes to realise that Greenfleet is not just a business intent on improving its bottom line. It is a committed and passionate organisation attempting to influence the negative impacts of our driving lives. Reliance on the automobile is a fairly obvious part of human existence that has a hugely detrimental impact on our environment. Greenfleet has created a legitimate and successful model for individuals and business to "Avoid, Reduce & Offset" their carbon emissions and increase biodiversity to a degraded landscape. Isn't it time that business and Government recognise their transport impact and address these problems in a positive manner? Adopting the Greenfleet model would be a great start, show great leadership and be a step in the right direction for corporate responsibility.

Greenfleet