Fleet Transformation Mandate Creates Opportunity to Significantly Reduce Carbon Emissions

Fleets are a powerful lever for reducing global carbon emissions, and the mandate issued on January 27 by the Biden Administration codifies the direction toward which many federal agency fleet managers have already been working.

In an article for Government Executive, Guidehouse experts discuss numerous considerations for updating or creating a fleet transformation strategy. Federal fleet managers must take into account increased model availability, the buildout of the charging structure, stakeholder education, grid resiliency, and financing. 

“They should engage stakeholders, define desired performance outcomes in detail, and create comprehensive models to show funding requirements, timing of resource investment, returns, and operations costs in various scenarios,” said Ajay Chawan, director at Guidehouse.

Gathering and analyzing this information should help federal agencies create a mobility strategy that includes prioritized plans for pilot regions or programs, resource requirements and timing of investments, anticipated job creation, preservation and redefinition, benefits and considerations of the impacts to underserved communities, and performance metrics and anticipated targets of emission reduction, among others.

Guidehouse explains that by embracing new approaches to fleet management and shifting to electrified and net zero transportation, federal agencies can make a meaningful contribution to carbon reduction efforts.

“Agencies have an opportunity to lead by example and further unlock the power of electrification to build more efficient and sustainable fleets,” Chawan said.