Mitie has been crowned ‘Green Fleet of the Year’ at the Business Car Awards 2020, during a virtual ceremony held on 22 October 2020. Mitie was named the winner in recognition of its ambitious and business-leading electric vehicle (EV) rollout and commitment to switch its entire fleet1 to zero emission by 2025. Business Car is the UK’s largest fleet magazine, with its annual awards highlighting the UK’s best business fleets, company vehicles and individuals leading the industry.
The award win comes after Mitie recently announced that it has raced past its pledge to switch 20% of its cars and small vans to EV by 2020, meeting the target three months ahead of schedule. Mitie now has nearly 800 EVs on its fleet, with around 25 more being delivered every week. Based on the current delivery rate and order pipeline, Mitie will have over 900 electric cars and vans by the end of the year.
Mitie now has an ‘electric first’ policy for all vehicle procurement, with all cars pure electric and any non-electric vans needing senior approval based on essential business need. However, the award also recognises Mitie’s efforts to reduce the emissions of its diesel vehicles that are yet to be switched. This has included the rollout of telematics to improve driver behaviour, resulting in Mitie receiving a Masternaut Gold Award for its CO2 reduction, as well as the addition of real-time ‘performance traffic lights’ on vehicle dashboards. Mitie’s Fleet Team also installed buzzers which sound when a vehicle is left idling – this initiative alone created an annual fuel saving of £88,000.
With an ambitious rollout plan, Mitie has gone from initial vehicle delivery in July 2019, to the UK’s largest EV fleet2 in less than 18 months. Given the rapid and large-scale nature of its EV transition, Mitie has gained significant experience and identified innovative solutions to overcome challenges along the way. In order to magnify the environmental impact and support more businesses in making the switch to electric, Mitie has recently launched a Plan Zero Fleet Transition Service. Covering every aspect of the EV journey, from vehicle procurement and charge point installation through to employee behaviour, the service is designed to help fleets take their own steps towards a zero emission fleet. With a whole life cost approach, the transition will, in many cases, create financial savings for businesses.
Simon King, Director of Sustainability and Social Value, Mitie, said:
“When we began our EV journey less than 18 months ago, it was simply because we believe that cutting our fleet’s emissions was the right thing to do, by our planet and our people. It’s also proving positive for our pocket too. I’m incredibly proud to have our hard work recognised by being named EV Fleet of the Year, however, we’re not taking our foot off the accelerator here. The climate crisis is not one that we can solve alone. As well as driving our own electric rollout, we’re committed to helping other businesses switch to zero emission fleets too.”
Notes to editors
1Subject to an appropriate zero emission model being available on the market
2 Based on publicly available information
About Mitie
Founded in 1987, Mitie is the UK’s leading facilities management and professional services company. It offers a range of services including Technical Services (Engineering Services, Energy, Water and Real Estate Services), Business Services (Security, Cleaning and Office Services) and Specialist Services (Care & Custody, Landscapes and Waste Management).
Mitie employs 47,500 people across the country, looking after a large, diverse, blue-chip customer base, from banks and retailers, to hospitals, schools and critical government strategic assets. It takes care of its customers’ people and buildings, by delivering the basics brilliantly and by deploying advanced technology. It is pioneering the Connected Workspace, using smart analytics to provide valuable insight and deliver efficiencies to create outstanding work environments for customers.
Find out more at www.mitie.com.
