Green June at a carrier: practical actions for the fleet

Every June, Brazil holds the Junho Verde (Green June) campaign, a nationwide environmental awareness initiative established by Law 14.393/2022 and incorporated into the National Environmental Education Policy.

This month was chosen because it includes World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5.

For those operating a road freight transport fleet, Green June is more than a date on the calendar. It is an opportunity to assess what the operation already does for sustainability, what it should do as a legal obligation and what it can do without having to reinvent everything.

See now:

• The environmental impact of road freight transport
• Carriers’ legal obligations
• What a carrier can do without reinventing the operation
• The role of data in fleet sustainability
• Green June as a starting point

The environmental impact of road freight transport

In Brazil, road transport accounts for almost 64% of freight movement, and this concentration in a mode using high-emission vehicles has a direct environmental impact.

According to the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory for Road Motor Vehicles, released in December 2025 with data from 2024, Brazilian road transport emitted around 270 million metric tons of CO2 during the period.

Within this total, the environmental impact of trucks accounts for approximately 40% of these emissions, despite trucks representing only 6% of the fleet in circulation in the country.

In freight transport specifically, medium-heavy and heavy trucks account for the largest share of the industry’s emissions.

There is no doubt that road freight transport is essential to the Brazilian economy and will remain so for quite some time. But it is necessary to understand how to operate with greater environmental efficiency within this reality, reducing what can be reduced with existing tools and processes.

Carriers’ legal obligations

Before discussing good practices, it is worth remembering that part of carriers’ environmental agenda in Brazil is not optional, having already become a legal obligation.

One of the main environmental standards for road transport in Brazil is the National Solid Waste Policy (Law 12.305/2010), which establishes shared responsibility for product life cycles.

For tires, CONAMA (Brazil’s National Environment Council) Resolution 416/2009 states that manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers are responsible for collecting and providing environmentally appropriate disposal of end-of-life tires.

In practice, this means that a carrier in Brazil disposing of tires improperly (without records, documented disposition or traceability) is exposed to environmental penalties.

Besides tires, carriers in Brazil also need to observe obligations related to emissions control (opacity tests), workshop waste management (lubricating oils, filters, contaminated materials) and, depending on the cargo type, environmental emergency plans.

What a carrier can do without reinventing the operation

Sustainability in transport does not need to begin by replacing the fleet with electric vehicles or investing in carbon credits. Although these are valid strategies for those with a structured foundation, this is not where most operations stand.

There are therefore concrete actions that generate a positive environmental impact using what the operation already has. Some areas for this are:

Proper tire management

Well-managed tires last longer, undergo more retreading and generate less disposal. Management that keeps track of wear, schedules replacement at the right time and sends casings for retreading before their usability is compromised is, in practice, reducing the operation’s solid waste volume.

After all, every tire completing the retreading cycle is one new tire that did not have to be manufactured, consuming raw materials and energy. In addition, every disposal with a recorded reason and documented disposition is documented environmental compliance.

Calibration as an energy efficiency tool

Tire management also includes tire calibration control. This action can represent savings of up to 3% in diesel consumption. In a fleet with dozens or hundreds of vehicles, this percentage translates into less fuel burned and, consequently, fewer pollutant emissions.

The good news is that keeping tires at the proper pressure is one of the most accessible sustainability actions with the most immediate returns for a carrier.

Preventive maintenance and emissions reduction

In general, vehicles with up-to-date maintenance emit fewer pollutants. This is because factors such as poorly tuned engines, clogged filters and compromised exhaust systems increase gas and particle emissions.

Structured preventive maintenance, with a defined calendar and recorded work orders, therefore keeps the fleet operating within environmental parameters.

Electronic checklist and paper savings

Operations still inspecting vehicles using printed forms consume significant volumes of paper every month. Especially when the fleet is large and inspections are daily.

Replacing paper with the electronic checklist thus eliminates this consumption immediately, without changing the inspection routine itself.

Avilan Transportes, for example, eliminated more than 2 metric tons of paper per month previously consumed in printed inspection forms. This was achieved by adopting the Prolog Electronic Checklist.

The role of data in fleet sustainability

An operation that records tire relocations, keeps track of disposal rates, monitors fuel consumption and documents maintenance has, in practice, an environmental database, even if it has never thought of it in those terms.

This makes it possible to measure the impact of sustainable actions in the fleet. For example: how many tires were disposed of and why, and how many casings were reused through retreading. Beyond that, how fuel consumption per vehicle has evolved and how many metric tons of paper have been eliminated through digitizing processes.

For companies that need or want to report ESG practices, this database supports their statements with evidence. And for those participating in initiatives such as FETCEMG’s Green June Challenge in Brazil (whose 2026 edition invites carriers to share case studies of good practices aligned with the ESG agenda), structured data turns a good practice into a case study that can be documented.

Green June as a starting point

Green June need not be just a month of campaigns and internal talks. It can be the moment for an honest operational assessment: what do we already do that contributes to sustainability in transport? Are we meeting our legal sustainability obligations? What could we improve by adjusting existing processes?

Many sustainable fleet actions that generate real results require no additional budget. They require processes, records and monitoring, things that well-structured fleet management should already have.

Does your operation already use a tire management system, perform electronic checklists and keep track of maintenance indicators? Then much of the sustainability foundation is already built. The next step is to look at this data through an “environmental lens.” This allows you to see that operational efficiency and environmental responsibility go hand in hand in most cases.

In general, the path to sustainable fleet management is progressive. And June is as good a month as any to take the first step, or even to recognize those already taken.

Want to structure sustainability in your fleet management? Download the Sustainable Fleet Management Guide for free (in Portuguese)!