Outsourcing giant Mitie has achieved a landmark of its EV strategy, switching 20% of cars and small vans to electrification.
Mitie now has more than 750 EVs – above its target of 717 by 2020 – providing zero emission vehicles across its operations.
The vehicle that hit the 717 mark – a Kia e-Niro – was delivered to the mobile engineering team three months ahead of the 2020 strategy deadline.
It is only 15 months since the firm received its first EV. On average, Mitie is now adding 75 EVs every month. The fleet accounts for 93% of the firm’s carbon emissions and decarbonisation of its vehicles is a vital element of the group’s wider plan zero commitment to be net-zero by 2025. This plan includes moving the entire 5,500 cars and vans to zero emission vehicles by 2025.
The EV strategy also focuses on creating charging infrastructure for Mitie drivers. Where possible, every Mitie driver has had a charge point installed at their home and chargers are now in place at Mitie’s key office locations and some customer sites too.
In total, Mitie has installed over 600 chargers throughout the UK. However, charging remains a significant barrier, with a recent survey of Mitie’s EV drivers finding that it is one of the biggest difficulties they face when switching.
Around half (48%) of Mitie’s EV drivers highlighted that issues with public charging, such as a lack of charge points in areas where there’s no off-street parking and problems finding rapid chargers, are their biggest concern.
Additionally, to help share Mitie’s expertise on EV transition, and support more businesses with transitioning to an electric fleet, Mitie has launched its Plan Zero Fleet Transition Service. The solution takes a whole life cost approach and is independent of suppliers, allowing Mitie to deliver a zero emissions fleet for zero additional cost.
Simon King, Director of Sustainability and Social Value, Mitie, said: “With our first electric vehicle joining our fleet just 15 months ago, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve delivered on our ambitious commitment to switch 20% of our cars and small vans to EV, three months ahead of schedule. But this is just the first leg of our journey. We’re committed to going further and faster, having pledged to have a zero-emission fleet by 2025.
“With such a rapid electric vehicle rollout, we’ve overcome numerous challenges by creating and implementing new solutions along the way. Through our Plan Zero fleet transition service, we’re taking our commitment to sustainability one step further by sharing our experiences and expertise with others.”
