Eco-driving for everyone

Training courses on roads regularly taken using vehicles – cars or vans – used on a daily basis: BP’s eco-driving courses rely on neither simulators nor practice tracks. CEC Conseil, a company set up to promote eco-driving, has developed an offer adapted to the needs of the petrol company’s corporate clients. The aim: to invite each employee to adopt new driving behaviour thanks to theoretical tips and practical support at the steering whee,l in the driver’s own environment. And the programme is dense.
The training day comprises four sessions: one stage for assessing the vehicle and analysing the driver’s driving style (via a test on a pre-defined circuit); one “discovery” stage to increase the driver’s awareness of respect for the environment and to provide information on his or her vehicle’s embedded technologies; one stage for theoretical and practical demonstration of eco-driving; and an application stage where driving data is recorded thanks to EcoGyser, an autonomous case (not wired up to the vehicle) that captures and analyses details.
Eco-driving and savings
“We have set up exercises for drivers to learn, for example, how to best use the
accelerator or drive on curves, and more generally, how to anticipate. This is not, as it is sometimes said, a matter of adopting an elderly person’s driving style, but rather a more sensible driving style that should become instinctive,” explain Olivier Lancel and Éric Mermier, Partner Managers at CEC Conseil. With the added bonus of savings in fuel. “Eco-driving offers the possibility of reducing consumption by an average of 10%, and up to 40% in certain cases. But that’s not all: gentler, more flexible and anticipated driving reduces claim rates and so the cost of insurance premiums,” remarks Éric Brisard, Marketing Manager at BP France. “Cost of maintenance per vehicle also falls.”
After setting up an eco-driving track at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2008 expo, BP France renewed its trust in CEC Conseil and negotiated special prices with the service provider (minus 15% for a day of training). For companies holding the BP Plus petrol card, as well as private clients with the BP Bienvenue fidelity card, a 5% discount is offered on a half-day course in eco-driving. The offer for private clients is grounded in the same principles as that for companies (decentralised training, using the trainee’s vehicle on open roads), but the theoretical aspect is toned down in favour of practical training.
Sustainable development
The promotion of eco-driving is a strategic axis for BP France. Within the BP group, the French entity is the first to have co-developed specific training courses. The British firm has made sustainable development into one of its priorities. Present in the wind and solar energy domains, it is also very active in the bio-fuel market. As the first petrol distributor to offer E10 (the fuel that can contain ethanol in up to 10% of the volume) in France, it has also carried out research for producing new generations of fuels based on enzymes and microbes. In addition, it has developed the Ultimate fuels which include friction-reducing additives to cut fuel consumption. Via its web site targetneutral.com, it promotes the reduction of CO2 emissions, not to mention its investments in CO2-capturing systems.
In 2010, the eco-driving programme initiated by BP France will also include a measure specially designed for SMEs and SMIs. In the long term, the offer will also be expanded to raise awareness amongst all drivers using personal vehicles to travel to work. “We wish to democratise eco-driving. At the Mondial de l’automobile, every visitor was a target. In the same way, we wish to design an offer that is open to everyone. Company requests are increasing and drivers are more and more mature. We want to bring about a change in behaviour,” say Éric Brisard, Olivier Lancel and Éric Mermier. “To consume less and to be more respectful of the environment, it isn’t enough to buy a so-called clean car: we must not forget to be human.”