Information for training providers

Ecodriving training suppliers can claim a subsidy of £25 (including VAT) for each driver trained in electric vehicles (EV) or plug-in hybrid vehicles, and £12.50 (including VAT) for driver trained in conventional vehicles. The training must meet Energy Saving Trust’s requirements (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the terms and conditions for details).

The subsidy can be claimed for:

• courses dedicated to ecodriving training
• longer duration courses that lead on safety but also incorporate Energy Saving Trust’s ecodriving requirements

For EVs and plug-in hybrids, the minimum training duration is 1.5 hours for each driver and the maximum number of drivers is five a day. For conventional vehicles, the minimum training duration is one hour for each driver and the maximum number of drivers is eight a day.

The subsidy is available to the entity that sells the training to the client. Usually this means the training company, rather than the individual trainer, except when a freelance trainer sells training directly to a client.

Training providers are entirely free to set the prices they charge their customers.

Training suppliers should either:

• submit a summary of each course for which they wish to claim a subsidy, to demonstrate how it will incorporate Energy Saving Trust’s ecodriving requirements, or
• confirm by email that the course for which they wish to claim a subsidy will directly follow the training format described in Appendix 1 (conventional vehicles) and/or Appendix 2 (EVs and plug-in hybrids)

All training must be delivered by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) registered fleet trainers who have attended one of our ecodriving train-the-trainer courses. These courses consist of around 2.5 hours of classroom training, plus two hours of on-the-road training.

They promote the use of simple, well-proven techniques such as greater anticipation and early gear changes to reduce fuel consumption.

Training suppliers must sign and return a copy of the ecodriving scheme terms and conditions to Energy Saving Trust. Once approved, a training supplier becomes eligible to use the ecodriving scheme logo to promote their ecodriving training.

Participating in the scheme is simple:

• sign and return the ecodriving scheme terms and conditions
• submit a summary of the course or courses you would like to claim subsidies for, demonstrating how your course(s) meet our requirements, or confirm to us in writing that your training will follow the standard formats shown in Appendix 1 and / or Appendix 2

As long as your DVSA-approved fleet trainers have attended one of our training courses, then you can email us to request an allocation of funding. We will reply to confirm the allocation.

At the end of each month, you submit your invoice and evidence of training, which includes two MPG results for each driver.

The key contact at each fleet you train will also need to email Energy Saving Trust a monthly confirmation of how many drivers were trained.

The following materials are available free of charge for approved ecodriving suppliers:

• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving logo, which suppliers can add to their own promotional material in accordance with our ecodriving logo guidelines. If you are an approved supplier and don’t already have a copy of the logo, you can request this from [email protected]
• Energy Saving Trust’s online certificate generator, which suppliers can use to create PDF certificates for their drivers. The certificates include calculations of a driver’s potential annual savings, based on their annual mileage and reduction of fuel consumption on the day of training

If you’re an approved supplier and don’t already have your login or password details to use this site, please contact [email protected].

To book a place on a train-the-trainer course, or to discuss the scheme, please email [email protected] or call 020 7222 0101.

Produced by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Department for Transport, these ecodriving videos are aimed at ecodriving driving trainers who are instructing others on how to drive electric vehicles. The list of videos will be continually added to, so if your vehicle has not been covered yet, follow our YouTube channel to keep up to date.

Read our 2020/21 terms and conditions for the ecodriving scheme.

Appendices

• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving terms and conditions Appendix 1 – format of training and key messages, internal combustion engine vehicles
• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving terms and conditions Appendix 2 – format of training and key messages, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving programme Appendix 3 – spreadsheet for recording training results, internal combustion engine vehicles
• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving programme Appendix 4 – spreadsheet for recording training results, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving scheme Appendix 5 – GDPR compliance
• Energy Saving Trust ecodriving scheme Appendix 6 – client confirmation pro forma email