LeasePlan progress on switch to EVs revealed in first-ever Sustainability Report

LeasePlan says it’s on track with plans to migrate its employee fleet to fully electric vehicles and to achieve net-zero emissions from its fleet by 2030.

LeasePlan’s report outlines the company’s progress on its overall sustainability strategy, including its ambition to achieve net-zero emission from its total fleet by 2030

The leasing giant announced both pledges two years ago when it signed up to the EV100 initiative and it’s now mapped out its progress in its first-ever annual Sustainability Report.

The report provides detailed information on the company’s activities in sustainability and a scorecard.

It reveals that the plans to transition employees to fully electric vehicles by 2021 have already seen the share of such vehicles rise from 1% in 2017 to 7% in 2018. Average CO2 g/km per vehicle employee fleet has dropped from 126g/km in 2017 to 118g/km last year.

The report also sets out that in 2018, EVs (fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles) accounted for 2.1% of the total fleet. And in Q2 2019, 5.7% of new vehicle orders were for EVs.

The firm is also targeting customers in 12 ‘EV-ready’ countries with attractive EV propositions based on high-quality services and ‘full package’ solutions, which include options for workplace and home charging and 24/7 assistance.

Other areas covered in the report include:

  • The launch of LeasePlan’s first Green Bond Framework, which will be used to finance or refinance the purchase Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). The €500m bond attracted more than €5bn of demand from around 260 investors.
  • The organisation of a series of educational EV events for customers and publishing multiple insights and guides, such as the popular Sustainable Fleet Benchmark, to help customers make informed decisions about electric driving

Tex Gunning, CEO of LeasePlan, said: “Climate change is the biggest challenge we face as humanity, and as road transport accounts for around 20% of global CO2 emissions, we’re determined to play our part. That’s why we want to achieve zero tailpipe emissions from our entire fleet of 1.9 million vehicles by 2030, starting with our employees’ vehicles. These are, of course, ambitious goals, which is why we’ve decided to publish our first-ever Sustainability Report. We want to be transparent with our customers, investors and other stakeholders, about how our zero-emission journey is going and where we can improve. Our mantra is simple: if it’s reportable, it’s measurable – and then we can be held accountable.”

To access LeasePlan’s 2018/19 Sustainability Report, click here.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day. Natalie edits all the Fleet World websites and newsletters, and loves to hear about any latest industry news - or gossip.