Sustainable fleet in the humanitarian sector prioritizes eco-friendly practices, aiming to minimize environmental impact and enhance operational efficiency. It involves adopting technologies, fuel alternatives, proper maintenance, and responsible management of the waste generated by the fleet to ensure long-term resilience and positive social impact.

Fleet optimization

ICRC has a strong fleet management policy that supports the optimization of its fleet to reduce emissions, which includes a variety of measures such as the use of low-emission vehicles, more efficient use of existing vehicles, reducing dependence on diesel-powered generators, thereby reducing the amount of fuel consumed during operational activities.  Currently, 11% of the ICRC fleet comprises environmentally friendly vehicles, including electric and hybrid models, reflecting our dedication to sustainable transportation practices.

Another way to optimize fuel consumption is making sure that “the right car is doing the right job”, so we make sure to use smaller vehicles that consume less fuel, whenever possible. Take a look at the calculation of the total cost of operations per km, the C02 emissions and safety ratings per type of car.

Waste management

Proper waste management remains a persistent challenge. However, the ICRC is committed to minimizing environmental impact of its workshop waste by refining our activities and developing a monitoring system to enhance waste management within our fleet. To assist vehicle fleet managers in waste management, various supports have been introduced, including:

Take a look this example from South Sudan and how our joint efforts with WFP and MSF resulted in finding solutions for managing our workshop waste.

ICRC wins the 2022 Best Transport Achievement for their Fleet Safety Project

At the 2022 Virtual Annual Fleet Forum Conference, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been selected the winner of this years’ Best Transport Achievement Award, sponsored by UPS, for their Global Fleet Safety Project. Dimitri Mandin and Farah Maayta, Fleet Safety Program Manager and Coordinator received the award on behalf of ICRC.

Read the full article here.