How TELUS raised ELD compliance to 95% and cut emissions with Geotab

TELUS Open in new window operates one of the largest corporate telecommunications fleets in Canada, with more than 2,800 service vehicles dispersed coast to coast. To meet binding environmental commitments, including net carbon neutrality and significant Scope 3 GHG emission reductions, the company needed a telematics solution that could connect real-time fleet data to daily operational decisions, not just reporting. 

Geotab experience and solutions delivered exactly that. The partnership provided actionable insights across the TELUS fleet and produced significant results: ELD compliance climbed from 63% to 95%, fuel efficiency improved by up to 40%, and the entire fleet achieved full National Safety Code and Hours of Service compliance without purchasing additional hardware.

The challenge: meeting Net Carbon neutrality goals

TELUS set ambitious sustainability targets that extend beyond its corporate offices and into every corner of its field operations. For a telecommunications company, Scope 3 emissions, those produced by vehicles and external activity rather than direct operations, represent a significant share of the total carbon footprint. 

Reducing them required solving four interconnected problems:

• Idling reduction: unnecessary engine idling burns fuel and generates direct emissions with no service value
• Route optimization: inefficient routing compounds fuel consumption across thousands of daily service calls
• Fleet utilization: underused vehicles represent embedded carbon costs without proportional output
• Regulatory alignment: compliance with Canadian National Safety Code and Hours of Service requirements must be maintained as sustainability reporting standards tighten

TELUS needed a platform that could address all four simultaneously and scale with the fleet as it transitioned toward electrification.

Geotab's fleet management solutions

Geotab deployed its enterprise-grade telematics platform across the TELUS fleet, connecting more than 6 million vehicles globally and processing over 100 billion data points per day. For TELUS, this translated into secure, real-time intelligence at every level of fleet operations:

• Real-time vehicle location and driver behavior tracking (speeding, seatbelt use, harsh braking, excessive idling)
• Advanced emissions and fuel reporting, including idling analytics and utilization metrics aligned with Scope 3 reporting requirements
• Predictive maintenance alerts to reduce unplanned downtime and extend vehicle lifecycle
• EV-readiness tools, including geofencing and home charging data for accurate employee reimbursement
• ELD compliance and Hours of Service management under Canada's National Safety Code with no additional hardware required
• Fleet benchmarking dashboards to support right-sizing and asset efficiency decisions
• Plug-and-play hardware with broad OEM compatibility for fast, non-disruptive fleet-wide deployment
• Enterprise-grade security and data privacy controls aligned with TELUS's strict data protection standards

"Sustainability and reliability are highly important to both organizations, and for that reason, TELUS is Geotab's number one telecommunication partner in Canada." — Jodi Baxter, Vice President of Industry Solutions – 5G and IoT Connectivity at TELUS Business

How Geotab turns TELUS sustainability goals into daily fleet decisions

Anti-Idling Optimization

Geotab's platform surfaces granular idling data by vehicle, driver, and location. TELUS fleet managers use this data to identify high-idling patterns, coach drivers, and track reduction progress over time. Idling reduction delivers one of the fastest returns in fleet decarbonization with no vehicle replacement required.

Electric PTO Adoption

TELUS adopted electrified power take-off (ePTO) systems to reduce engine idling during stationary work. Geotab's before-and-after idle data makes the business case for ePTO investment clear and quantifiable, giving TELUS the evidence needed to scale the program.

EV Home Charging Program

Geotab's geofencing capability allows TELUS to track precisely when company EVs are charged at employees' homes, enabling accurate and scalable reimbursement. This removes one of the most common practical barriers to corporate EV adoption.

Fleet Right-Sizing Through Utilization Benchmarking

Geotab's industry dashboards give TELUS visibility into how each vehicle is being used relative to fleet-wide and industry benchmarks. This supports smarter decisions about when to retire, replace, or reallocate assets, reducing the embedded emissions and total cost of ownership (TCO) from underutilized vehicles.

Fuel Efficiency Gains

Telematics insights from Geotab drive key strategies in maintenance scheduling, driver coaching, and vehicle replacement. For TELUS, these data-driven decisions have unlocked fuel efficiency gains of up to 20–40%. The environmental benefits are equally notable; Geotab research shows that telematics solutions have contributed to an 8.5% drop in emissions intensity (kg CO2/mile) for all heavy-duty vehicles.

"TELUS has thousands of vehicles dispersed across Canada, so it's critical that our partnership with Geotab supports building the most sustainable fleet possible." — Jodi Baxter, TELUS

Safety performance: data-driven driver coaching 

Safety is a non-negotiable priority at TELUS. Geotab's fleet platform, MyGeotab, tracks key driver behavior indicators such as speeding, seatbelt compliance, harsh braking, and idling, and surfaces this data for proactive intervention before incidents occur. Vehicles equipped with Geotab safety features have a 40% lower collision rate than unequipped vehicles, according to Geotab's commercial transportation research.

For TELUS fleet managers, this means the ability to coach drivers based on objective data, reduce engine wear through idling reduction, and protect both employees and the public across thousands of daily service routes.

Fast deployment across a national fleet, no operational disruption

TELUS deployed Geotab's platform across its Canadian fleet without halting operations or requiring intensive retraining. Geotab's plug-and-play hardware and broad OEM compatibility allow TELUS to scale as its fleet grows and its technology requirements evolve, whether that means new vehicle types, new sustainability reporting mandates, or deeper EV integration.

"Geotab's easy implementation allowed us to deploy quickly without halting operations for training. A few videos and clear communication were all it took to get our fleet managers and drivers up and running." — Justin Quan, Fleet Business Analyst, TELUS Business

Key outcomes: measurable results from the Geotab-TELUS partnership

• ELD compliance increased from 63% to 95% across the Canadian fleet.
• Full National Safety Code and Hours of Service (HOS) compliance achieved with existing Geotab tools, no additional hardware purchased.
• Fuel efficiency improvements of up to 20–40% through telematics-informed fleet decisions
• EV home charging pilot operational through Geotab geofencing, enabling scalable fleet electrification
• Fleet right-sizing and vehicle replacement strategy informed by real-time utilization benchmarking
• Advanced analytics integrated directly into TELUS dashboards for real-time reporting on emissions, safety, utilization, and regulatory compliance

"Whether you're a fleet of 10 or 1,000, Geotab grows with you. It's plug-and-play, highly customizable, and designed to support the future of fleet." — Justin Quan, TELUS Business

Geotab continues to play a vital role in helping TELUS meet its operational and sustainability goals. With a foundation of secure, actionable data, TELUS is well-positioned to accelerate its journey toward a smarter, safer, and greener future.

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