Vehicle safety and emissions are addressed in the UN Sustainable development goals 3.6, road traffic safety, and 13, reduced climate impact. In Sweden, a large proportion of new passenger vehicles (62%, 236 546 vehicles) were purchased by legal entities in 2017. Those vehicles are driven for 18 years in average. Therefore, well-reasoned company car policies in terms of safety and emissions are imperative to meet the global goals.

The objective was to show how a company car policy that includes requirements regarding safety and CO 2 emissions can be a tool to reach global safety and environmental goals. The paper describes the development of a vehicle purchase policy that was introduced by Folksam Insurance Group in 1998. The criteria of the policy have been revised on a yearly basis to meet developments of vehicle safety and environmental technology, as well as environmental goals.

The vehicle data consists of new passenger vehicles available on the Swedish market. Data regarding crash tests, safety equipment and CO 2 emissions are listed for every vehicle model and version. The safety requirements cover crashworthiness, performance in whiplash tests, and availability of selected safety systems. The environmental criteria are adapted to meet global goals regarding CO 2 emissions. The goal is zero carbon emissions from new vehicles in 2030. A general goal is that approximately 15 % of the new vehicles on the Swedish market should fulfill the requirements in the policy.

It is shown in this study that safety and environmental criteria have changed rapidly during the last two decades. Furthermore, it is shown that safety and emission policies are important tools to guide fleet procurement managers as well as private consumers. A comparison of vehicles for sale and with those that are actually sold shows a higher rate of safety assist system in sold models compared to models for sale. The CO 2 emission requirement has been halved during the two decades the policy has been active, indicating that the vehicle fleet has made large progress in reducing their CO 2 emissions as the proportion of vehicles fulfilling the requirements has been approximately 15% during the two decades.

It is important to guide vehicle fleet buyers of vehicles for private use to choose the safest and most environmentally friendly vehicles since those vehicles will be used for many years. Company car policies are important tools in this process. A vehicle purchase policy will indirectly influence car manufactures to offer vehicles that fulfil the requirements in the policy.

An important recommendation is that a vehicle purchase policy should be revised annually to follow rapid changes in available safety technology and emission standards in order to substantially influence the vehicle fleet. A vehicle purchase policy is an important tool to guide vehicle consumers towards the safest and most sustainable vehicles. It is recommended that a vehicle purchase policy should consist of requirements regarding crashworthiness, fitment of important safety systems, CO 2 emissions. Preferably, it should be complemented with a vehicle list for tangible and feasible advice to consumers.