The facilities management contract company Mitie reports that it has passed its target to convert 30 per cent of its fleet to zero emission electric vehicles (EVs) by March 2022, three months ahead of its schedule. As a result, the company has increased its target to have 35pc of its fleet electric in the same timeframe.
The firm now has electric cars, vans, and even a gritter, taking its total as of the end of 2021 to more than 2,000 EVs in 15 models – what it believes to be the UK’s largest fleet of electric vehicles. The vehicles are based in the UK from the Scottish Highlands and Islands to the Cornish coast, besides EVs working on contracts supporting the UK’s Overseas Territories, including Ascension Island. As for the necessary electric vehicle charge points, the contractor has installed thousands of charge points for a range of its customers, as well as at employees’ homes.
Mitie points to its Plan Zero commitment to eliminate carbon emissions from its power and transport. Its fleet of EVs reduces the firm’s annual CO2 emissions by around 10,000 tonnes and the business has a detailed timeline to switch the rest of its vehicles to zero emission by 2025. As for petrol and diesel vehicles, the firm has fitted a Telematics Driver Behaviour system that has reduced diesel consumption by 75,000 litres and saved 19.5 tonnes of CO2 in one year.
The company is offering customers an EV transition service, to design and manage a switch to electric. In addition, in November 2021 it expanded its EV charging infrastructure with the acquisition of Rock Power Connections Limited.
Peter Dickinson, Chief of Staff at Mitie, said: “Switching 30pc of our fleet to electric by the end of March 2022 was already an ambitious target, so to have hit this milestone three months ahead of schedule is an incredible achievement and testament to the hard work of the Mitie Fleet Team. Pushing ourselves to go further, faster, while bringing others along with us on our journey to net zero, is a hallmark of our Plan Zero commitment. By creating the UK’s largest fleet of electric vehicles in just three years, we’re dedicated to sharing our first-hand expertise and learnings with our customers to help decarbonise Britain.”
