• The EU Taxonomy classifies sustainable economic activities and is intended to increase sustainable investment through the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

• EU companies with over 500 employees or is affected from January 1st 2024.

• Many companies with commercial fleets lack access to reliable fleet data, making it challenging to report on emissions from their fleets.

The scope of the EU Taxonomy Regulation

Under the provisions of the EU Green Deal and as part of its efforts to stimulate sustainable growth, the EU has introduced a classification system for sustainable economic activities: It is named the EU Taxonomy, often referred to as ‘the green taxonomy,’ and comes hand in hand with a new regulation: The EU Taxonomy Regulation (EUTR) as well as a new directive on sustainability reporting, the Corporate Social Reporting Directive (CSRD). Together, these policies force EU companies with over 500 employees to report in accordance with the EU Taxonomy from January 2024.

The EU Taxonomy serves in various ways to help investors make decisions and, in doing so, direct investments towards activities considered environmentally sustainable. The classification system allows business activities to be evaluated in terms of their environmental impact, thereby creating incentives for companies to keep reducing any negative impacts that their activity has on the environment and climate.

The EU Taxonomy pinpoints six environmental objectives and identifies economic activities that contribute to attaining them. For any company obligated to report in accordance with the regulation, climate action and the reduction of carbon emissions are particularly important objectives: According to 2021 numbers from Eurostat, the official statistics bureau of the European Union, the transport sector is responsible for 25% of the total of around 3.54 billion metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions generated in the EU – and as if this wasn’t enough: Road transport represents 740 million metric tons of CO2, and trucks and buses account for 207 million metric tons. Adding to this, emissions from fleets and vehicles are the top source for carbon emissions in many companies – meaning it is highly relevant for affected to immediately seek solutions on how to access reliable sustainability data from their commercial fleets.

The EU Taxonomy and Fleet Management

Implementation of the EU Taxonomy initially poses a challenge for companies running commercial fleets, likely adding operational routines and the hurdle of increased administration. However, by investing in a solid fleet management system as early on as possible, affected companies can both reduce their carbon footprint and get access to accurate reporting data without compromising operational efficiency.

The Taxonomy is being implemented gradually, meaning that reporting is still voluntary for many companies. In 2025, more companies will be affected by the reporting obligation, and the expectation is that it will extend to include more companies over time. However, many have already realized the benefits of reporting in accordance with the regulations as of now.

The benefits of EU Taxonomy reporting for Commercial Fleets

Even though implementing the EU Taxonomy challenges companies across the EU, it simultaneously brings across an opportunity for decision makers to get ahead of the competition in sustainability efforts and at the same time use the same tools to optimize their fleets and reduce their operational costs. And, while the regulation doesn’t include all companies by actual policy: Being compliant with the regulations and having access to reliable emissions data from your operations gives advantages in business relationships with companies who are.

Vialumina is able to help companies get a head start in their compliance efforts. Collecting data from drivers and vehicles – and in cases where all or a part of the commercial fleet consists of electric vehicles, data from the chargers and the electric grid – our customers get access to reliable emissions data from their fleets. Let’s get ready together!

Sources:
EU Taxonomy Navigator
Eurostat