Fleet & mobility management
The UK is accelerating plans for a greener future by ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 – a decade earlier than planned.
Look beyond apps, however, and even pop culture has embraced the green trend, with heavy-hitting video game studios like Kojima Productions developing blockbuster titles such as Death Stranding, where the player takes on the role of a courier who has to take advantage of technologies such as solar power generators and electric vehicles to make precarious deliveries in a dystopian future. If anything, this step into the mainstream shows how embedded renewable energies are in the wider public consciousness – rather than this simply being a niche subject for environmentalists.
But this is not simply a case of just being ‘trendy’ –
rather, electrification is increasingly being viewed as an unavoidable necessity, and one that will, in all likelihood, be subject to organic growth even in the absence – or, indeed, weakness – of government intervention and regulation. That, in turn, will encourage even greater electrification in both the public and private business domains. This is perhaps best exemplified by specific segments of the private sector rapidly taking matters into their own hands, and embarking on their own green journeys. In doing so, they are enhancing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials while simultaneously doing more to reduce the impact of combustion engines on our planet. According to recent research by ESG risk management provider Alcumus, this is reflected in the fact that 67% of companies across the UK, US and Canada are investing in systems to make ESG progress measurable.
Regulatory need, or responsible business?
But just how ‘top-down’ has this drive to a greener future been in terms of government mandates and regulations? Is corporate adoption of eco-friendly trends a result of state intervention? Or are increasing numbers of companies ‘seeing the light’ and placing the planet ahead of profits for purely altruistic reasons? The UK government has set
Finance Director Europe /
www.financedirectoreurope.com
ambitious targets for its Net Zero Strategy, which flies under the banner of twin ‘Build Back Greener’ and ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ slogans. The UK was the first major economy to embrace a legal obligation to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, passing laws in 2019 that committed the British government to these ambitious goals. In 2021, the plan was updated by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a ten-point scheme for achieving net zero, with point four of that plan dedicated to accelerating the shift to zero emission vehicles.
David Landy, head of fleet, Evri
“As far as heavy goods go, electrification isn’t quite there yet to give you the range and payloads that you actually need.”
David Landy
Point four of the plan also commits the UK to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, which is a whole decade earlier than initially planned. While production will cease from 2030, sales of such vehicles would continue until 2035, and the government earmarked a £2.8bn support package to promote the production and manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs). A further £1.3bn has also been set aside to produce and accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, with rapid charge points planned on motorways and major roads to make it easier to plan for long journeys. However, not all companies were willing to wait for the government’s deadlines. Elaine Pringle, fleet manager of customer vehicles at Scottish Water, says her company is way ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting EVs. “We have set bold targets, ahead of the UK government’s deadlines,” Pringle explains. “These targets are aligned with the Scottish government’s ‘Programme for Scotland’ targets for public sector fleets.” As Pringle says, these include a ban on petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and the abandonment of polluting HGVs by 2030.
37% Evri 27
The percentage of Evri’s van fleet that runs on electricity.
Scharfsinn/
Shutterstock.com; Evri
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