Joe Gorman Director UK, Ireland and Nordics at ChargePoint
It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year for UK companies. When COVID-19 first sent the country into lockdown last spring, business leaders acted quickly to ensure their organisations would be able to weather the pandemic. Lacking a clear road map, many employers sent employees off to work from home, leaving offices largely abandoned. Months later, not much has changed. With the cooler weather, the coronavirus is having a resurgence, prompting ever-stricter containment measures. In the meantime, offices remain shuttered. Despite this, there are bright spots as the year comes to a close—and even some opportunities to take advantage of those deserted garages and car parks.
An opportunity for change
Perhaps the biggest reason for optimism is that there is at least one COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, offering the promise of a return to normalcy sometime in 2021. In addition, the economy has rebounded faster than many experts had predicted. Throughout the year, British businesses and workers have proven resilient in the face of adversity which bodes well for the future—especially because there’s another not-so-unexpected challenge that must be addressed in the near term. Even before the unforeseen events of the current year, combating climate change had been a priority for both government and business. As we’ve all come to realise, tackling it requires an all-hands-on-deck approach and must take into account the lessons learned from 2020.
A healthier tomorrow
The transport sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the country, making up nearly a third of the total amount annually. That’s why, way back in 2018, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) had already identified electric vehicles as the ‘least-cost pathway’ toward achieving the Government’s Road to Zero goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 2050. With human well-being front and centre in people’s minds and policy discussions, EVs are in the news again—this time because of their health benefits. Cars, trucks and buses are responsible for a full 80 per cent of noxious emissions that cause air pollution and contribute to illness. Whilst many people work from home, air pollution has dropped an average of 40% on London roads.
The coming revolution in transport
Perhaps that’s one reason the Government is accelerating the timeline for a proposed ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2035 to 2030—amending a February plan to roll back the date from the original 2040 target. By the looks of it, the mass adoption of EVs could occur even sooner than that. Unsurprisingly, vehicle registrations for traditional cars are down from 2019. However, those for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are up nearly 200 per cent year over year. Whilst continued lockdowns have businesses reassessing plans for their offices—such as downsizing or creating hubs to reintroduce socialising to the workplace—another concern for companies is fast approaching. What happens when all those new EV drivers return to work post-pandemic and realise they can’t charge their cars where they spend a majority of their waking hours?
Healthier—and happier—employees
Businesses have a crucial role to play in the coming recovery. Just as electric vehicles are the least cost pathway toward achieving climate goals, workplace EV charging may be the least cost pathway for businesses to encourage employee retention, loyalty and productivity. In particular, younger workers want to work for organisations that share their values. In fact, according to one recent survey, a quarter of all employees and half of Millennials say they’d accept less pay to work for “environmentally-friendly businesses.” In contrast to difficult-to-evaluate wellness schemes or little-utilised perks such as corporate gyms or foosball tables, EV charging is a measurable employee benefit with an attractive ROI that gets used.
The inevitability of e-mobility
Aside from complying with Government regulations and offering employees a desirable benefit, networked EV charging also allows companies to easily understand and track their environmental progress on the road toward meeting their own sustainability goals. Current Government EV charging infrastructure incentives can help drive down the cost for businesses as well. If that weren’t enough, there are other ways organisations can save with zero-emission vehicles: taxes. BEVs are exempt from the Road Tax/Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), as well as the benefit-in-kind (BIK or “company car”) tax. All told, the cost savings of an EV versus an ICE vehicle can be upwards of 70% per mile.
By demonstrating corporate responsibility to both workers and customers, companies that offer EV charging will secure a place at the forefront of the coming electric mobility revolution. Workplace charging can be a community benefit in and of itself when used to provide charging to the public at night offering – especially important as at least 1/3 of UK households do not have off-street parking.
None of this is news to many leading brands. Large companies around the globe already understand that the health of the planet, people and their businesses are inexorably tied together. A 2019 UN/Accenture survey found that nearly all large-company CEOs agree that “sustainability issues are important to the future success of their businesses.” With workplaces empty, there is no better time to future-proof offices, especially now that the electrification of transport is both inevitable and the timeline imminent.
