Property services business Liberty has pledged to make 10% of its van fleet fully electric by 2024, supporting its carbon reduction work.

Liberty runs an 847-strong van fleet

The company runs an 847-strong van fleet, which is its biggest contributor of CO2 emissions. In 2021/22, the business used 1.32 million litres of diesel and petrol, which equates to 3,282 tonnes of CO2.

Its rollout of electric vans hinges initially on which drivers can deploy the firm’s home charging solution, which ensures they’re not reliant on public charging.

The chargers are delivered in partnership with Hypervolt and usage will be monitored remotely by Liberty with drivers reimbursed directly for work vehicles.

Sam Greenwood, head of fleet at Liberty, said: “Our target to have 10% of the commercial fleet fully electric by 2024 is an ambitious task made more challenging by the lack of public infrastructure. With the public charging network struggling to keep up with demand, we knew we had to be proactive to continue our mission to reduce CO2 emissions.

“By partnering with Hypervolt, we have been able to offer our drivers the chance to switch to electric vehicles without the worry about where to charge them. We’ve already begun the rollout and are keen to keep the momentum going with more and more of our drivers taking on electric vehicles.”

Liberty has already started using electric vans for its work for Portsmouth County Council, which the council greeted.

Meredydd Hughes, assistant director of building services from the council, said: “We are pleased to see that our contractors are committing to electric vehicles. Liberty is taking the necessary steps to achieve their goal of reducing emissions and establishing a complete electric fleet that all employees can use. Reducing emissions is an important step towards Portsmouth City Council’s goal of net zero by 2030.”