CARBON REDUCTION: LeasePlan

In the driving seat
for a carbon-neutral
​​​​​​​fleet by 2030

In November 2019, LeasePlan, a provider of sustainable automotive fleet leasing, unveiled its carbon reduction plan with the launch of its first annual sustainability report. 

In his introduction to the report, Tex Gunning, CEO of the Netherlands-based provider, said: "There can be no more doubt about the urgent need for action to tackle human-made climate change. The UN has warned that unless we drastically reduce our CO2 emissions and reach net zero by 2050, global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees, with far-reaching consequences for all life on earth.

"This is the biggest challenge we face as humanity, and as road transport accounts for around 20% of global CO2 emissions, we’re determined to play our part. That’s why we support the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. But we also think we can do better. We want to achieve zero tailpipe emissions from our entire fleet of 1.8 million vehicles by 2030, starting with our employees’ vehicles."

LeasePlan operates in two markets:  Car-as-a-Service for new cars, through its LeasePlan business, and the high-quality three-to-four-year-old used car market, through its CarNext.com business. The company has more than 1.9 million vehicles under management in over 30 countries, according to its website. 

Below is an excerpt from LeasePlan’s 2018/19 sustainability report about its reporting commitments. 

Disclosure, reporting and regulatory requirements

In 2018 we took the important step of conducting a materiality exercise with our external stakeholders, which is a requirement of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. These are the most widely adopted global standards for non-financial reporting and are used by 93% of the world’s largest 250 corporations, according to the KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting, 2017.

At LeasePlan, we intend to start applying GRI standards over the course of 2020. To that end, we have begun setting up central reporting on topics such as carbon footprint, fleet electrification, diversity and talent development. This has required us to create baseline inventories, define ambition levels and develop action plans on both a central and local level.

Our maturing reporting activities have also improved the level and depth of our contributions to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), in which we have participated since 2010. Our involvement in CDP has also enabled us to improve our disclosures to EcoVadis, the sustainability ratings and scorecard company that helps procurement teams monitor CSR and ESG practices in the supply chain.

Looking ahead, we want to substantiate our support for the international business declaration in support of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which we expressed in 2017. Set up two years ago by the G20’s Financial Stability Board, the TCFD developed a set of recommendations for companies to disclose information on how they oversee and manage climate-related risks and opportunities, as well as the material risks and opportunities to which they are exposed. LeasePlan is currently assessing its overall exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities, with a view to quantifying the associated financial impact.

Developing regulatory requirements

In addition to the expectations of our stakeholders, as a licensed bank and Public Interest Entity (PIE), LeasePlan is also subject to various regulatory requirements relating to sustainability. For example, the EU Banking Reform Package includes various provisions relating to environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects, while both the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and Financial Services Authority

(AFM) have included sustainability in their supervisory priorities for disclosure. Furthermore, the DNB is currently engaged in a dialogue with the financial sector to update its supervisory frameworks for the incorporation of climate-related risks. Finally, as part of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, the EC has published draft legislation to take ESG considerations and preferences into account.

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