A housing association is on the road to achieving net carbon zero status by 2050 after taking delivery of its first electric vehicle.
The electric van is out on the roads in Broadacres’ operating area of North Yorkshire.
The Citroen e-Dispatch van, which has a range of around 200 miles, is being used by Broadacres to conduct a ‘real world’ trial over the next 20 months, with the data being obtained on its performance shaping the way the Association delivers its services with a full electric fleet in the future.
It forms an important part of Broadacres’ Sustainability Strategy which outlines the measure that will lead to all its homes and operations having net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – the target year set by Government.
To help towards this target, the Government is ending the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030, with all new cars & vans being fully zero emission by 2035
The fully stocked van is being used by the heating engineer team at Broadacres and charging points have been set up at the Association’s head office in Northallerton and its extra care schemes in Northallerton, Leyburn and Stokesley.
Operatives will also be able to use an App on their smartphones to identify public charging points.
Broadacres’ Chief Executive Gail Teasdale said: “As the only housing association with its headquarters in North Yorkshire, we have a duty to do our bit to protect this beautiful county in which we work and live.
“It is therefore very pleasing to be able to have our first electric vehicle on the road and we are looking forward to seeing how it performs over the next 20 months and then taking on board any learning from this trial.”
David Smith, the Resources Director, said ‘The next generation of Broadacres’ fleet will roll out between late 2023 & early 2024 and, subject to the results of the trial and monitoring ongoing technological advancements in the EV field, the Association anticipates adding further electric vehicles at this stage,
The fleet life will then be reduced from five years to four so that Broadacres can commence with the procurement of a fully electric fleet of vehicles in 2028, ahead of the 2030 target.’
Gail added: “This is an important part of the strategy and one which will ultimately enable us to achieve net zero carbon status across all our operations by 2050.”
Be the first to comment