Putting green fleet practices to work can quickly improve their performance, saving costs and cutting environmental impacts.

A set of tools released today by the Environmental Defense Fund has the potential to reduce fleet emissions by an average of 14 percent, while reducing total lifecycle operating costs by 4 percent.

The toolbox, developed in partnership with PHH Arval's GreenFleet program and unveiled at the GreenFleet Conference in Chicago, shows how making small changes can have a big impact.

There are more than three million commercial vehicles on the road in the United States today, the EDF said, teaching drivers to use fuel-smart behaviors can help every one of them get greener quickly.

{related_content}"Fleets have seen improvements in fuel efficiency by up to 4 percent after adopting fuel-smart driving practices," Jason Mathers, Green Fleet project manager at EDF, said in a statement. "If all corporate fleets in the country did the same, they could reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly two million metric tons -- and save money."

To help speed the adoption of green fleet practices, EDF today unveiled its comprehensive "Greening Fleets" toolbox, which includes free online training modules, greenhouse gas emissions calculators, and a five-step framework for developing a green fleet.

The five steps in EDF's Green Fleet Framework are:

Step 1: Measure Emissions and Set Goals;
Step 2: Improve Vehicle Selection;
Step 3: Improve Vehicle Use;
Step 4: Consider Carbon Offsets;
Step 5: Report Progress

EDF developed the guidelines working in partnership with fleet management company PHH Arval; PHH's director of environmental programs, Karen Healey, has previously written on GreenBiz.com about Five Tips to Reduce Your Fleet's Emissions and Three Secrets to Driving Down Your Fleet Emissions.

"We believe the tools developed by PHH and EDF will provide great business and environmental benefits," Healey said, "and we encourage all fleet managers to consider including them as part of a comprehensive fleet greenhouse gas management strategy."

In addition to driver education and vehicle maintenance as simple ways to green fleets, the EDF has been working with corporate partners to develop greener vehicles. As part of a Green Portfolio pilot project, US Foodservice worked with EDF and saved over $8 million in fleet fuel costs. And EDF has been working with FedEx and Eaton to develop effective and efficient hybrid trucks. GreenBiz.com Senior Writer Marc Gunther interviewed Eaton CEO Sandy Cutler on the growth of hybrid trucks earlier this year.

To dig in to the EDF GreenFleet project, visit EDF.org/GreenFleet.

Truck photo CC-licensed by Flickr user Monica's Dad.