10th March 2022

We took some significant steps forward in 2021 in our journey to carbon zero.

Last year, one of our main goals was switching our hybrid fleet to fully electric models, and we made some substantial progress with six replacements.

Our window cleaning division, Advance Cleaning Services, became a zero-emissions fleet, with 100% of their vehicles switching to electric.

In October 2021, three fully electric Peugeot e-208s joined the City & Essex fleet, providing a range of up to 225 miles on a complete charge of its 50kWh battery.

Although it may mean a change in habits for our mobile teams, we are confident that this will considerably impact our progress for net-zero operations. Our long-term objective is to reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels and cut harmful and toxic pollutants from entering the environment. We are now one step closer to that goal and to a fleet of exclusively electric company cars.

In replacing these vehicles, we noticed that the charging infrastructure doesn't quite meet our managers' demand and time constraints.

As demand for these services increases, we have seen infrastructure improve drastically. However, some areas are still lacking, and it can often be difficult to charge in the team's local areas.

In addition to this, charge times vary, and often our team face challenges in fully charging their vehicles between site visits. Often factors including proximity to fast chargers, battery capacity, and increasing queues for these services mean that a full charge isn't quite possible.

To alleviate some of the pressures and pave the way for more sustainable operations, we have installed two OLEV approved charging points at our Head Office, which our staff can use free of charge. Not only will our teams be able to charge as they work, but visiting managers will be ready to visit sites after their meetings, with no worry about distance or lack of charge.

We can review how much electricity we are using by using the accompanying smart app. The availability of data will assist us in measuring our real impact and drive our future initiatives for our net-zero targets.

By moving with the times, improving our infrastructure, and making EV charging more accessible, we are not only hoping to reduce our environmental impact, but we also hope to encourage the switch to electric vehicles for more of our office-based teams.

We want to take this opportunity to thank JPS Renewable Energy for the systems and installation. The charging points are a great addition to our office and have been well received by those that use them.