Fleet and mobility management
like the vanguard of the green revolution. Peek under the bonnet, however, and things get more exciting. With a range of around 300 miles on a single charge, these fully electric vehicles reach a top speed of over 100mph – surely enough for even the busiest engineers. Beyond that, the Kona’s charging speed is impressive too. Able to normally re-juice in under ten hours, or just 47 minutes in a pinch, Severn Trent’s staff won’t be waiting long to get back on the road. Describing the vehicles, Miles begins by emphasising the ethical value they offer her team. As she puts it, “it’s about making a real difference to the environment and the people we serve, as well as reducing impact on future generations.” That’s undoubtedly true, and slots neatly into Severn Trent’s aim to spend a colossal £1.2bn on Britain’s environment. More than that, however, it’s clear the company, in a way unlikely of its state-run forebear, also has its eyes on the bottom line. Though the asking price for an electric vehicle is more expensive – the Kona comes in at around £23,000, compared to £20,000 for dirtier models – Severn Trent soon expects to make good on its investment. As Miles says, this can be understood in a number of ways. “While the initial cost of an electric vehicle is currently more expensive, as the scale of production increases in time this is likely to reduce,” she explains. “Overall, electric vehicles have lower running, maintenance and fuelling costs when the correct fuelling strategy is used.” That point on fuelling isn’t peripheral. As Shell’s mammoth investment in charging points implies, these plugs are a vital pillar of EV plans everywhere. Severn Trent is clearly no exception. In May last year, after all, it announced a partnership with EVBox to build 352 charging points across its area of operations. Unsurprisingly, EVBox is being strategic with where it places its plugs, with many installed at Severn Trent’s operational sites, offices and transport workshops. Nor is EVBox’s role ending there. Among other things, the company is also offering online training on how to use its charging points – and that’s far from the only place where Severn Trent is relying on outside help. That’s particularly true, suggests Miles, when it comes to her firm’s work with the EV100 initiative, an international environmental group aiming to make electric transport “the new normal” by 2030. “Collaboration is going to be essential to the successful rollout of electric vehicles,” Miles says, adding that “sharing knowledge in managing EV fleets” is just one of the benefits EV100 can offer. At the same time, Miles expects the state to take a more active role too. Though Severn Trent is currently installing electric infrastructure for its own use, she expects the government will have to eventually intervene too.
Finance Director Europe /
www.ns-businesshub.com
Supply chain gain How does all this fit into Severn Trent’s broader vehicle sustainability plans? It’s clear that the company is setting its sights on the stars – just as well given it was recently caught discharging sewage into a Worcestershire brook. Apart from its own £1.2bn environmental shopping list, after all, the company is also working to reduce emissions across its supply chains. That means tackling climate change especially, but also protecting nature in other ways. Any flora planted by Severn Trent’s partners, the company’s supply chain manifesto emphasises, must be “British native species to prevent the spread of invasive non-native species”. In the same vein, the firm expects its suppliers to engage in the circular economy, single-use plastics and reducing packaging.
Hyundai Konas can reach speeds of over 100mph, despite being fully electric.
“Collaboration is going to be essential to the successful rollout of electric vehicles.”
With all this on the horizon, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Miles is similarly optimistic about her firm’s move towards automotive greenery. That’s true, she stresses, across Severn Trent’s vehicle fleet. The electric Konas may be coming – but in the meantime her employer is also experimenting with alternative fuels. Near its Coventry headquarters, the company is working with the local university to convert sewage from ammonia into hydrogen fuel. “It’s more than electric,” Miles says. “We are all learning and leading different elements of research and development.” They might nearly share a name, but the Severn Trent Water Authority this certainly isn’t. ●
£1.8bn
Severn Trent’s yearly revenue, making it one of Britain’s biggest water companies.
Hargreaves Lansdown 63
Philip King/
Shutterstock.com
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