The facilities management (FM) contractor Mitie has marked the 4,000th electric vehicle (EV), a Volkswagen ID Buzz, to its fleet by having it unveiled by Matt Western MP.
He’s the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, and serves as the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on EVs. Mitie, as featured in the January print edition of Professional Security Magazine, stresses how for customers it can decarbonise and help customers attain ‘net zero’ aspirations on sustainability, including through sustainable transport, whether deploying electric vehicles or installing EV charge points (an arm of Mitie’s services).
The 4,000th EV is one of 650 new Volkswagen ID Buzzs ordered by Mitie. The contractor says these vehicles will cater to a range of the company’s colleagues, including those doing cleaning, and landscaping, and engineers traveling between sites. Mitie is delivering FM, hard and soft, at over 260 National Grid sites.
With 60 per cent of its fleet now electric, Mitie says that it’s on track to meet its target of electrifying its fleet by the end of 2025. This started in 2020 with the company’s Plan Zero, aimed at reaching net zero operations in the same time. Hence what the firm describes as a robust EV roadmap, replacing Internal Combustion Engine vehicles with EVs across its contracts and own estate.
The firm has installed over 2,800 charge points across its colleagues’ homes and customer sites. It is also supporting many of its customers, including National Grid, with their own EV strategies, whether rolling out EVs across fleets, or the installation and upkeep of charging infrastructure.
Heidi Thompson, Group Fleet Manager at Mitie, said: “Reaching our 4,000th EV is a major milestone on our journey to reaching a zero-emission fleet by the end of 2025. The vehicle joining our fleet at National Grid will serve a crucial role for our cleaning operatives on the contract. It was a pleasure to be joined by the local MP, Matt Western, who in his role as the Chair of the APPG on EVs is driving forward the importance of fleet electrification, championing UK businesses to embrace EV strategies.”
And Matt Western said: “It was great to have the opportunity to welcome Mitie’s 4,000th electric vehicle to its fleet and hear from the team about the important work they are doing. It is seriously impressive how Mitie are leading the way with one of the largest electric fleets in the UK. Businesses have a significant role in reducing transport emissions and I encourage all businesses to look at decarbonising their fleets.”
Photo courtesy of Mitie, left to right at National Grid House outside Warwick: Matt Western MP; Prem Gabbi, Director of UK Land and Property at National Grid; Heidi Thompson; and Matthew Brailsford, Mitie Managing Director of Solar & Storage Solutions.
For the National Grid and its net zero work, visit https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/grid-zero-zone.
