Representatives from The AA, Rightcharge and Zest will form part of a webinar panel that will explore the issue of fleets and how to ‘bridge’ the gap to EVs, as businesses and the public sector accelerate to net-zero.
The webinar is part of Transport + Energy’s ‘Explains’ series. Entitled ‘The bridge to EVs’, it is being sponsored by The AA and will take place on Thursday 25 September at 11am.
Duncan Webb is Fleet Director at The AA and boasts a wealth of experience in both operating and supplying services to the fleet industry, with a notable track record of overseeing some of the UK’s largest and most intricate fleets such as Royal Mail and BT. With over 25 years of industry expertise, Duncan has experience as both an operator and a supply across the fleet sector. Responsible for managing the AA’s famous yellow fleet, Duncan is fast becoming a regular commentator on transport topics across the media.
Charlie Cook is the founder and CEO of Rightcharge. The company offers a software product that simplifies EV fleet charging payments, designed to accelerate the UK’s transition to clean, sustainable transport.
Before Rightcharge, Charlie built his expertise at the intersection of deep science and the energy sector. A trained engineer, he worked at CERN on the next generation of the Large Hadron Collider before becoming a founding member of Octopus Electric Vehicles and Octopus Electroverse, where he helped shape Octopus Energy’s early electric vehicle solutions. He holds a master’s in Climate Change, Management & Finance from Imperial College Business School.
Paul Ford is the Chief Development Officer at Zest. Paul is passionate about creating an equitable society and avoiding a two-tier system for EV adoption. Most recently he specialised in developing integrated solutions for EQUANS and Amey. Working at director level for global advisory practices Aecom and Gardiner & Theobald, Paul supported local and central government to manage strategic procurements and develop workplace solutions.
He has a background in estates management for the NHS and has an MBA in Leadership. At Zest, Paul leads the Business Development team, creating and continuously improving the overall sales strategy which evolves in line with the fast-paced nature of the EV industry and customers’ changing needs.
The webinar will include detailed insight into how the public and private sector can scale up their fleets to EVs and alternative fuelled vehicles, and the various issues around maintenance, data, diagnostics, and technologies required.
Yet it is not only about going electric or using other alternative fuels, in the medium term and future, but also how to reduce carbon right now in the interim period, improving Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across transport fleets – from frontline logistics to grey fleets – ahead of the 2030 and 2035 targets.
This includes better and more efficient driving patterns, and other ways to scale-up efficiency with the ultimate goal of carbon reduction, as well as holistic approaches to sustainability and ESG that take into account your current fleet, before it goes fully-electric.
The AA will be able to provide detailed insight into how this can be achieved, using best practice examples, case studies from across UK fleets, and its own data and research.
Essentially, it will explain not only how to scale-up such fleet decarbonisation models, but also making sure businesses don’t stand still on sustainability – in between purchasing cycles. It is about ensuring that even with a current fleet of ICE and hybrid vehicles, you can reduce your carbon footprint significantly – as well as accelerating towards a net-zero, decarbonised future.
Topics to be discussed include:
● Case studies of fleet electrification
● The AA’s insight and data on fleet management and sustainability
● Skills and training required to improve emissions
● The changing face of maintenance with EVs and fleet management
● How to futureproof fleets for electrification and other issues to consider
