What the judges said: “Outstanding results, diverse portfolio of activity, commercially sound and not CSR driven.”

And: “Huge scaling – very large fleet/business with rapid progress.”

About the project – Travel and transport make big contributions to BT’s UK carbon footprint.

The use of cars, vans, trucks and public transport caused emission of almost 205,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2008/09.

Most (154,000 tonnes) was generated by its fleet of 7,916 company cars and 29,480 commercial vehicles, one of the largest in the UK.

To cut emissions BT’s introduced measures with two main goals-reducing the number of journeys made and increasing fuel efficiency. Those designed to reduce journeys have had the biggest impact.

The company has encouraged people to use conferencing services instead of travelling to meetings.

‘Conservative calculations’ by independent researchers suggest every time an employee does this, expenses totalling £156 are avoided, time worth £100 is released for more productive use and 40kg less CO2 is emitted.

Over a year, the economic benefits added up to £182 million and the CO2 emissions saved to 53,000 tonnes.

The impact on air travel was particularly significant. Over a year BT reduced the number of flights made by employees by more than 20%-an achievement recognised by the WWF, which named BT the first to meet its One in Five Challenge.

Turning to its fleet BT chose vans and trucks that generate fewer emissions and encourage those entitled to company cars to follow suit, meaning that now on average its vehicles now emit 150g/km, some 28% less than in 2000.

The biggest cuts in emissions were achieved by reducing the need for visits to customer sites and other locations.

Steps taken over the past two years improved the reliability of BT’s network and increased the share of tasks completed correctly during the first (and therefore only) visit.

In 2008/09 alone, some 300,000 fewer visits were required, cutting emissions by more than 2,000 tonnes.

Data gathered from vans and trucks is processed and made available to drivers online so they can see how the way they drive impacts their personal carbon footprint.

As far as the vans and trucks themselves are concerned, speed limiters are now fitted as standard and BT has done what it can to reduce the weight of the racking and other equipment that’s built in.

Every 100kg reduction in vehicle weight reduces fuel consumption by 0.7 litres/100km.

BT has also tested B30 bio-diesel fuel and both hybrid and all-electric vehicles to financial and operational viability.

Adding everything together BT has reduced the amount of CO2 emitted as a result of travel and transport by almost 20% in 2008/09.

Shortlisted projects in no particular order

Think electric urban vehicles

Natural England transport emissions cuts

CABLED largest low carbon vehicle demo in the UK

B9 shipping’s fossil free fuel and dry bulk cargo ships

ADAS’s reducing business travel GHC emissions

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe