The company says that most major fleets are now deeply aware of the need to take action on greenhouse gases but require clear and definite directions on exactly what they should be doing to meet the problem.

cfc business leader, Andy Leech, explained, "Probably for the first time, there is genuine impetus in the fleet industry to adopt top-to-bottom environmental policies that will cut CO2 emissions - but little direction is being given on what should be done.

"Advice and guidance from the Government and the various bodies it funds has been piecemeal and confusing over recent years.

“For example, support for LPG through reduced duty has produced little in the way of results and the shift towards bio-diesel in the recent pre-Budget statement has been unsupported with any strategic explanation.

"The Energy Savings Trust has done some good work with its Green Fleet Reviews but only in a relatively small number of cases and their resources are clearly limited.

“Something more substantial is needed to capitalise on the impetus that exists now in the fleet industry. The Government should be striking while the iron is hot."

Leech said that practical experience of tackling environmental issues was quite hard to find in the fleet industry and that external guidance was sorely needed.

He said, "Fleets have done much to clean up their act in recent years but only by following clear directions, such as those inherent in the CO2-based benefit in kind taxation system. Most know very little about how to make improvements on their own."

Leech added that the duty of care experience seen across fleets in the last few years provided a good template for what could be achieved in terms of carbon emissions.

He said, "It is now unusual to come across a major fleet that does not have a grip of its risk management issues, yet this was not the case just three or four years ago.

"What we need is something akin to the original Health and Safety Executive 'Driving at Work' document that spelt out to fleets exactly what was expected of them. That served as a touchstone for everything that has happened in risk management since.

"The Government, or one of its agencies, should produce something similarly thorough that covers carbon emissions, providing clear signposting about future policy and defining the kind of actions that fleets should be taking."