10 mins to read

Data-driven tips for sustainable fleet management

By Jennifer Coreno Strouth September 24, 2026

Here’s what today’s CO₂ emissions landscape looks like: While global energy-related CO₂ emissions growth slowed in 2025, it’s still growing. The new high? Nearly 38.4 billion tonnes.¹

For fleet operators, the continued rise in emissions reinforces the importance of sustainable fleet management strategies that reduce fuel consumption, improve efficiency and support measurable environmental progress.

Effective sustainability in fleet management starts with visibility. Telematics data can help organizations understand how vehicles are used, where fuel is being wasted and which assets may be underutilized or poorly matched to their assigned work. Fleet managers can then prioritize improvements based on measurable operational needs rather than broad targets or assumptions.

A practical fleet sustainability program can include:

Reducing unnecessary idling
Improving routing and dispatching
Addressing harsh driving behaviors
Maintaining vehicles proactively
Rightsizing the fleet
Identifying routes suitable for electrification

The most effective sustainable fleets treat environmental performance and operational efficiency as connected goals. With the right sustainable fleet solutions, organizations can establish a reliable baseline, identify high-impact opportunities and track progress over time.

The current compliance and regulatory landscape

The regulatory landscape for fleet sustainability continues to evolve. At the federal level, the future of the SEC climate disclosure mandate remains uncertain. In May 2026, the SEC proposed rescinding its 2024 climate-related disclosure rules in their entirety. The rules, which would require certain public companies to disclose climate-related risks and, in some cases, greenhouse gas emissions, have been on hold since April 2024.²

Specific state-level requirements, however, remain in effect. California’s Clean Truck Check program requires nearly all diesel and alternative-fuel vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating above 14,000 pounds to comply when operating on California roads—even if they are registered in another state. The program requires reporting, annual compliance fee payments and passing emissions test submissions at specified intervals.

Managing regulatory changes and emissions compliance with telematics

A successful fleet sustainability strategy should help meet these requirements while preparing for what comes next. Verizon Connect is an authorized telematics provider for CARB’s Clean Truck Check program and an approved provider participating in the California Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Continuous Testing Program pilot.

For Clean Truck Check, Verizon Connect users who operate heavy-duty vehicles in California can transmit required On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) information instead of taking vehicles out of service for physical emissions checks. This can reduce vehicle downtime and employee time spent on managing testing, while providing notice of emissions issues as they arise.

Participating California government users can see similar benefits through the Continuous Testing Program pilot. Telematics data can be submitted directly to BAR in lieu of physical smog checks, helping fleets keep vehicles on the road while reducing the administrative work of tracking, scheduling and completing required emissions testing.

Emissions requirements are only one part of a fleet’s regulatory responsibilities. Download our free compliance guide to learn how technology can help your organization manage CSA, DVIR, IFTA, hours-of-service, ELD and FSMA requirements.

Beyond required testing, Verizon Connect’s Reveal Emissions System Report can help light- and medium-duty fleets identify potential emissions-related issues before they become larger maintenance or compliance problems. The report provides details about affected vehicle systems, diagnostic trouble codes and check-engine-light activity, helping fleet managers:

Proactively address emissions issues: Identify potential problems before they impact your emissions performance and compliance.
Reduce downtime: Combat unscheduled maintenance and keep your fleet on the road.
Improve efficiency: Streamline maintenance processes by focusing on specific systems requiring attention.

The report supports proactive maintenance but does not replace mandatory emissions testing.

Together, these capabilities demonstrate the growing role of connected vehicle data in emissions compliance for commercial fleets. Reliable records can help organizations streamline testing, address vehicle issues earlier and contribute operational information to a carbon footprint report. That same data can also inform longer-term decisions about maintenance, vehicle replacement and electrification, connecting regulatory compliance with broader sustainability goals.

The modern strategy for fleet sustainability

A successful sustainability fleet management strategy starts with understanding how vehicles are actually being used. Telematics can provide fleet managers with data to establish a measurable baseline and prioritize changes that can deliver the greatest operational and environmental impact.

Use telematics data to identify fuel waste

One of the most practical fleet fuel cost reduction strategies is to identify where fuel is being consumed without contributing to productive work. Excessive idling, inefficient routes, speeding and aggressive acceleration can all increase fuel use while adding unnecessary wear to fleet vehicles.

Reveal provides reports and dashboards that help fleet managers identify fuel consumption patterns across individual vehicles, drivers and locations. Customizable alerts can also notify managers when a vehicle exceeds a defined idling threshold, allowing them to address fuel-wasting behavior before it becomes an accepted part of daily operations. And the stats show that it works: according to a recent survey, GPS tracking users saw a 12% average decrease in fuel costs.³

By connecting telematics data, fleet sustainability and fuel efficiency, organizations can move beyond general goals such as “use less fuel” and focus on specific, measurable opportunities. Managers can compare performance over time, identify recurring sources of waste and determine whether operational changes are producing the intended results.

Download the 5 ways to reduce fuel costs eBook to learn how fleet management technology can help you monitor fuel-wasting behaviors, improve routing and reduce fuel slippage.

Improve utilization through fleet rightsizing

For organizations evaluating sustainable fleet management practices, the objective isn’t necessarily to replace every vehicle with an electric vehicle (EV). Maintaining more vehicles than a fleet needs can increase fuel, maintenance, insurance and replacement costs which all make an overall impact on the ongoing emissions impact of your fleet.

But removing the wrong vehicles can also leave teams without the capacity or equipment required to complete their work. Effective fleet rightsizing uses utilization data to determine whether each asset is necessary, appropriately assigned and suited to its workload. Fleet managers can review factors such as:

Mileage and engine hours
Frequency and duration of vehicle use
Assigned routes and job requirements
Fuel consumption and maintenance history
Vehicle age and replacement timing

This analysis can help organizations identify underutilized assets, consolidate workloads or replace inefficient vehicles with models that better match operational requirements. It can also reveal where a smaller vehicle, alternative-fuel model or EV may be capable of completing the same work at a lower total cost of ownership.

By combining utilization, fuel and maintenance data, fleet managers can make more defensible decisions about which assets to retain, reassign, replace or retire, supporting both financial performance and long-term fleet sustainability.

An EV suitability assessment estimates the potential business impact of replacing vehicles across key total cost of ownership (TCO) categories. Check out some of the direct calculations provided by the assessment tool here.

Driving sustainable fleet operations through driver behavior

Technology can help identify opportunities to improve sustainability, but driver behavior often determines whether those gains are realized. Idling, speeding, harsh acceleration and hard braking can increase fuel consumption, vehicle wear and emissions. By using telematics to identify these patterns, fleet managers can focus coaching efforts on the behaviors with the greatest operational impact.

Turn driver data into targeted coaching

Reviewing harsh driving events data helps managers understand when and where inefficient driving behaviors occur. Rather than relying on general reminders, fleets can use this information to provide timely, specific feedback based on actual performance.

You can address distracted driving and expand situational awareness using fleet driver coaching and specific solutions like:

Road-facing dashcams: Get the full context around what the driver sees and what factors are contributing to their experience. 
Driver-facing dashcams: See surrounding circumstances of how the driver is operating the vehicle and what behaviors occur while driving. 
Extended view cameras: Provide broader views around the vehicle that offer better visibility for drivers when backing up, maneuvering in tight spaces and sharing the road with other vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians.
AI-powered data: Enable smart solutions that can alert you to events that require your immediate attention. AI analysis and classification of any events make it easier for fleet managers to determine what actions need to be taken quickly.

Reveal reports and customizable alerts can help managers identify prolonged idling and other fuel-wasting behaviors as they occur. This gives fleets an opportunity to address recurring issues, reinforce efficient driving habits and measure whether coaching is improving performance over time. In fact, research shows that long-term users of Reveal reports and alerts saw a median reduction of approximately 40.1% in idling time and 48.6% in overspeeding events.⁴

Support EV performance through better operating habits

Driver behavior also affects the efficiency of vehicles that run off batteries. Aggressive acceleration, high speeds, heavy accessory use and inefficient route choices can reduce available range and place additional demand on the battery.

Monitoring driving patterns alongside charging and vehicle data can help fleet managers protect EV battery health and improve range predictability. Coaching drivers on smoother acceleration, efficient routing and appropriate charging practices can support more consistent performance while helping fleets get greater value from their EVs.

By combining behavioral insights, automated alerts and ongoing coaching, organizations can turn sustainable fleet solutions into repeatable daily practices—not just high-level environmental goals.

Electrification isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy. Before investing in charging infrastructure, download 5 ways fleet managers can prepare for EVs to build a data-driven transition roadmap.

See sustainable fleet management in action

Tree Tech, a tree care company operating 57 trucks across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, used Verizon Connect GPS fleet tracking to gain greater visibility into idling, speeding, routing and vehicle location. By monitoring minute-by-minute idling data, addressing unnecessary engine use with drivers and routing crews around congestion, the company reduced its monthly fuel costs by approximately $2,000.

The technology also helped Tree Tech reduce excessive speeding, dispatch the closest available crews and respond more efficiently to breakdowns and service calls. Its experience demonstrates how sustainable fleet management can produce measurable results without requiring an immediate vehicle replacement program.

Better visibility into everyday operations can help fleets reduce fuel consumption, control costs and make more efficient use of their existing vehicles.

See how Verizon Connect can support your fleet sustainability goals. Request a demo today.