Facilities management company Mitie has brought forward its plans to switch its full fleet to electric vehicles to 2025; five years earlier than previously planned and part of its new zero carbon commitment.
The business, which runs around 5,300 vehicles, pledged to switch its fleet over to electric by 2030 as part of the EV100 initiative.
Since then, it’s deployed its 250th EV – a Nissan e-NV200 van on the roads at Heathrow – in line with its commitment to switch 20% of its small van and car fleet to electric by the end of 2020.
However, its newly launched Plan Zero makes a commitment to reach zero carbon by 2025 – said to be a first in the facilities management sector and 25 years ahead of the Government’s 2050 target.
The plans are focused around three areas – eliminating carbon emissions from power and transport, eradicating non-sustainable waste and enhancing inefficient buildings to meet the highest environmental standards.
The plans will also be used as a blueprint to help public and private sector clients achieve their own net zero carbon targets.
Simon King, Mitie’s new director of sustainability, said: “The climate emergency is a problem that we all need to take responsibility for. If we have any chance of solving it, then businesses need to take bold action now. Plan Zero is our ambitious 2025 commitment, to lead the way, not just within our own industry but across wider UK business too. Over the next five years, and beyond, this will simply become how Mitie does business and we hope many more companies will join us on this journey.”
King also called last month for more operators to shift to electric vehicles, as he also pointed out that a lack of both charge points – including on-street residential and rapid chargers – and larger vans remain “major blockers” for the UK’s EV transition.
He continued: “If the UK is going to meet crucial targets to reduce carbon and minimise the effects of climate change, we need more businesses, as well as government departments and city councils, to join us in the switch to electric vehicles. The first step to achieving this is ensuring an adequate number of charge points, in the places where they are needed most, are installed all over the UK, so that drivers are sure they can charge where and when they need to.”
