Shell's Martin Lustenberger on leveraging data insights to Accelerate to (net) Zero

Guest post by Martin Lustenberger, Global Head Business Development, Marketing & Operations, Shell Fleet Solutions

Vehicles are increasingly becoming connected, autonomous, shared and electric. Together, these four mega-trends illustrate the digital transformation underway in the business fleet sector. With cars and trucks fast becoming computers on wheels, the vehicle becomes an extension of the driver’s digital life for both leisure and work. That’s why inherently digital products such as battery electric vehicles (EVs) are accelerating the convergence of mobility and energy.

That convergence is very much needed! In the past few years, global CO2 emissions from transport have continued to increase despite the efficiency gains realized on a per-vehicle basis (Source: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport) . 

Commercial transport is critical to our lives and the world we live in, and with generally higher mileage driven than private vehicles, it has an outsized role to play in reducing emissions. The facts speak for themselves: in the Netherlands, for example, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) tend to drive about 2.3 times more kilometers every year than private vehicles.

Therefore, replacing them with BEVs is a very effective lever for CO2 reduction (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1179656/car-lease-contract-annual-mileage-in-the-netherlands/). Additionally, under certain conditions, electrification can represent an operationally effective solution to optimize a fleet total cost of ownership.

That’s why fleet managers have a critical role to play in accelerating the EV transition. But as governments, businesses, and private individuals all realize, the transition from ICE to EV is not a straightforward process. Which vehicles, which routes and which set of operations should be electrified? How? How much will it cost…or save? What are the external factors that fleet managers need to be aware of? 

Shell has established our Accelerate to Zero (A2Z) program to help answer these challenges. Following its four-step framework, we help fleet managers calculate their CO2 footprint and establish sensible decarbonization targets for their business. We also help them source the various building blocks for the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and support them with lower-carbon fuels that might help decrease the fleet’s CO2 intensity until they transition to zero-emission powertrains. And we also support them in managing the change roadmap internally and externally. 

Download Shell's new reportto unlock the power of your fleet data to drive forward your decarbonisation journey.

In June 2024, we announced that Geotab was the first official telematics partner for our A2Z program. By leveraging Geotab’s ‘vehicle truth’ network of telematics-enabled cars and trucks, we can deliver value-added services to fleet managers. These include Shell Fleet Insights that help inform and execute their decarbonization strategies. To date, over 1,000 businesses globally have benefited from the A2Z program. 

And this is just the beginning! With exciting innovations on the horizon such as Geotab Ace, or the progress Shell is making in energy services available to businesses, our ability to leverage data to inform an optimal strategy will only improve in the future. This is why collaborations between Shell and Geotab is vital in helping fleets accelerate to zero emissions. This proves, once again that, sustainability is a team sport!