The power of data in the switch to zero emissions

Transport is the second most polluting sector in the world, contributing to a quarter of all CO2 emissions on the planet – and within the transport industry, roads are responsible for three-quarters of that transport pollution alone. Our industry has a responsibility – and a tremendous opportunity – to shape the future of transportation. At Geotab, we have a relentless focus on helping organisations to help themselves transition to a low carbon future, whether that’s turning to data to enhance vehicle and driver efficiency or examining the case for a transition to a fully-electric fleet.

Transitioning to electric

In September last year, we unveiled research examining the case for transitioning to electric amongst fleets across Europe, comprising

46,000 Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) lightduty vehicles overall, and comparing them against their battery-electric counterparts with real-world electric vehicle performance data. This data comes from Geotab’s Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA): a powerful tool that applies existing fleet telematics data against performance data from realworld EVs, thereby creating a blueprint for electrification, and ultimately helping our customers understand how the switch to electric can work for their specific situation. Our findings concluded that nearly 60 per cent could switch to electric immediately and save nearly £218 million in the process. Similarly, whilst examining the sustainability impact of transitioning, the saving per vehicle equates to cutting an average of more than five tonnes of tailpipe carbon emissions per vehicle. Across all the vehicles we analysed, it equates to carbon sequestered by 2.6 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. Collectively we’ll continue to overcome growing pains amid the zero-emission transition. Just as the UK with its ‘stop sale’ deadline of 2030, countries around the world are continuing to put deadlines in place to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles from our roads. However, in the face of the ongoing energy crisis, there remains a clear need to encourage and accelerate EV adoption. Eventually, the population of EVs will overtake traditional fuel-based models – however, we hope to see continued investment in governmentissued incentive programmes to ensure this transition is as compelling as possible. Besides incentives, we’ll continue to see innovations in EV infrastructure and power management, from faster DC charging rates for vehicles, off-street charging, and increased experimentation in all-new power delivery systems such as rapid battery swapping. Longer term, it’s going to be interesting to see how power storage continues to evolve with some manufacturers already experimenting with solid-state solutions for vehicles.

Looking ahead, we’ll continue to see developments in vehicle ownership and usage – from subscription services to shortterm hire. Shared mobility is an exciting and growing trend in the mobility space, giving more people access to vehicles on a per-need basis. So too is the rise of vehicle subscriptions, giving users more flexibility in the types of vehicles they drive and how often they change up to different models depending on their evolving needs. The implications of these are notable for fleet operators, where ongoing maintenance and telematics become imperative to ensure maximised uptime for customers. In the case of EVs, too, these new ownership and usage models are a fantastic way to showcase the technology to more drivers and ultimately increase ongoing interest and adoption.

Sustainability – both environmentally and economically – will continue to dominate, particularly within the context of today’s challenges. The motor industry has borne this notably these past couple years with a persistent supply crunch. Fleet operators are thinking longer term and considering vehicles that will have to run further – there will be more focus on how data can help reduce the carbon footprint of these vehicles, increase vehicle utilisation, and reduce ongoing maintenance requirements. L

 37 h Chris Rutherford Next Generation Ambulance Programme Lead, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Chris has worked for the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust for over six years. He sponsors all major fleet projects for the trust, and is developing an ultra low emission, emergency response fleet. The trust took delivery of its first new EVs in June 2022, as part of a £16.6 million investment into a greener vehicle fleet. Chris scooped the 2022 Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year title at the GREENFLEET awards, along with Rob MacIntosh.

36 NEW Denis Naberezhnykh Sustainable Transport Technology and Innovation Manager, Amazon

Previously technical director for sustainable transport at engineering firm Ricardo, in 2021 Denis brought his greener transport skills to the online retailer, which has rapidly introduced electric vehicles into its worldwide delivery fleets. In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 allelectric Rivian-built vans, since added to with fleets of Mercedes-Benz eSprinters and long-haul Volvo electric trucks. In the UK, Amazon has expanded its e-cargo bike fleet, with the launch of three further micro mobility delivery hubs.

35 Alfonso Martinez Managing Director, LeasePlan UK Ltd

Alfonso believes that leasing is one of the key pillars in the transition to electric vehicles, and he is a renowned advocate of EV adoption. Against a backdrop of industry supply issues, Alfonso has made it his mission to maximise EV access. Under his leadership LeasePlan has unveiled its EV Salary Sacrifice product, and repositioned the LeasePlan Flexible proposition to focus on EVs, as well as enriching its EV Education Hub with 50 pieces of content and free digital tools. LeasePlan is the current GREENFLEET Leasing Company of the Year.

34 NEW Rob Fowler Fleet Director, Royal Mail

Rob joined Royal Mail as Fleet Director in March 2022, a few months after the British postal service announced a 10-fold increase in the number of EVs in its fleet, with plans to introduce 3,000 additional electric vans. In August 2022, 2,000 new Peugeot e-Expert and e-Partner vans marked a significant step towards its aim of having 5,500 electric vehicles on fleet by Spring 2023. In January 2023, the 4,000th EV milestone was met.

33 Fraser Crichton Corporate Fleet Operations Manager, Dundee City Council

Fraser has been leading Dundee City Council’s charge to zero emissions since 2010. A frequent EV panelist and speaker, he heads up the development and implementation of EVs and their charging infrastructure. Dundee has one of the highest concentrations of EVs of any UK city, and around 27 per cent of the council’s fleet is electric. What’s more, a significant amount of the city’s taxis are EVs.

32 h Sara Sloman Chief Strategy Officer, Paythru

A previous 2018 GREENFLEET EV Champion, Sara is no stranger to the GF100 Most Influential list, first appearing in 2019 and then every year since. Her energetic passion for zero emission mobility has seen her lead teams at Elmtronics and Foot Anstey LLP, and drive up ULEV uptake during her time at North Somerset Council. Sara’s extensive EV background is contributing to Paythru’s mission to making parking, paying, and charging easier.

31 NEW Robert Llewellyn Founder, Fully Charged

Writer, broadcaster and actor Robert Llewellyn is the founder of EV channel Fully Charged, which focuses on the future of electric vehicles and clean energy. Fully Charged has a significant video presence on YouTube, a weekly podcast, and headline events not only in the UK, but also Europe, Australia, Canada and the US.

30 h Colin Ferguson Chief Executive Officer at Optimize (The Algorithm People)

The Algorithm People, which was co-founded by Colin in 2018, is now rebranding to ‘Optimize’ to coincide with its new algorithm release. Securing £2.2 million of funding, the latest developments include a suite of new optimisation algorithms based upon artificial intelligence and machine learning, with the aim of accelerating fleet decarbonisation and generating further fleet efficiencies.

29 NEW Simon Tate Sales Director, Mer Fleet Solutions

Simon is playing a key role in driving the adoption of EV charging infrastructure by fleets. He has pioneered a consultative sales approach that is unique in the EV charging industry and has spearheaded significant year-on-year growth in Mer’s B2B division. Highlights for Mer over the last year include a 110% increase in the total number of installed chargers, and key client wins such as IKEA and Asda.

28 Chris Chandler Principal Consultant, Lex Autolease

A high profile Fleet Management Consultant for over two decades, Chris set up Lex Autolease’s plug-in vehicle proposition, and has helped some fleets reach over 40 per cent zero emission vehicle penetration. Chris also leads on Lex Autolease’s thought leadership, writing white papers and ‘How-to’ guides, speaking at industry events and webinars. He is also proud to have been named in the GF100 list for the last five years.

27 NEW Adrian Keen Chief Executive Officer, InstaVolt

EV charging infrastructure provider InstaVolt was founded in 2016, and has close to 600 operational rapid – 50 to 150kW – chargers in the UK, right across the country. The company has won numerous EV industry awards, and was the first network to introduce contactless payment. Targeting 5,000 installed chargers by 2024/25, InstaVolt has recently announced plans to double the number of rapid points at its Banbury site to 32. E

 26 Justin Meyer Managing Director, SWARCO Winner of the GREENFLEET Charging

Infrastructure Provider of the Year award in 2021, SWARCO has built on that success in 2022. Two rapid EV chargers have been installed at Maengwyn Street car park in Machynlleth, Powys, with plans to install 35 50kW rapid chargers at 18 sites across four Welsh Local Authority areas. The company has also partnered with Cornwall Council to supply, install and maintain EV charging points.

25 Paul Wilcox Senior Vice President and Group MD, Stellantis

Previously the Managing Director of Vauxhall Motors, Paul took up his new role for the wider Stellantis group in 2022. The past year has seen some notable first electrified vehicle launches for the group. Alfa Romeo has launched the Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4, its first PHEV, and Abarth and Jeep have unveiled their first EVs: the 500e and Avenger respectively. Additionally, a range of hydrogen fuel cell-powered e-LCVs have been announced across the group, going on sale later this year. At the 2022 GREENFLEET Awards, Stellantis Group brand Peugeot won the Fleet Car Manufacturer of the Year prize.

24 Paul Philpott President and CEO, Kia Motors UK Ltd

It has been a busy year for Kia. The new version of the very popular electric Niro was introduced, while Hilti GB and the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust added the old model to their vehicle parcs. The new fleet Kia Business Service Promise was also rolled out across the dealer network, and the company passed the annual 100,000 UK sales record for the first time.

23 h Sam Clarke Chief Vehicle Officer, GRIDSERVE

Sam’s commitment to improving the climate by facilitating the transition to EVs is well known and widely respected. Since GRIDSERVE opened the first Electric Forecourt in Braintree, Essex, a site has opened in Norwich, with others at Gatwick Airport and Plymouth locations approved. Additionally, the recent opening of the company’s 13th Electric Super Hub at Pease Pottage has bolstered the number of GRIDSERVE high power charging sites. Sam is also a valued member of the EV Café.

22 h Graham Thomas Fleet Operations Manager, Ocado Group

At Ocado Group for over eight years, Graham continues to drive the company’s natural gas truck activity. The first retailer in the UK to self-fund its on-site natural gas refuelling station, its Gasrec-operated Hatfield CFC site is optimised to refuel over 80 trucks per day. In 2022, the company continued to add CNG cabs to its natural gas fleet.

21 h Justin Laney Fleet Manager, John Lewis Partnership

Playing a central part in decarbonising the John Lewis Partnership’s HGV fleet for over a decade, Justin also leads the whole vehicle parc of 5,500 vehicles of all sizes. One of his key focuses is decarbonising the fleet through transitioning 4,000 cars, vans and light trucks to EV, along with the 600 heavy duty, long distance trucks to biomethane of which 340 have so far been transitioned.

20 NEW Olly Craughan Head of Sustainability, DPD UK

Head of Sustainability at deliver y services provider DPD since November 2021, Olly leads the company’s strategy to become the UK’s leader in sustainable delivery. In January 2020 DPD had 149 EVs, that number rising to over 1,500 in January 2022. By the end of 2023, DPD’s Vision 30 is to enable zero emission deliveries in 30 towns and cities, servicing 25% of the UK population and over 100 million parcels.

19 NEW Guy Pigounakis Commercial Director, MG Motor UK

Previously Commercial Director for MG Rover Group in the UK, Guy has been at the forefront of MG’s return in the 2020s. Now with a focus on pure electric drivetrains, during the first nine months of 2022 MG sold over 38,300 cars, making it the UK’s 12th bestselling manufacturer, with the MG5 EV the UK’s fifth most popular EV. Celebrating this growth, MG Motor UK is the 2022 GREENFLEET Electric Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year.

18 NEW Lisa Brankin Managing Director, Ford of Britain

At Ford Motor Company for 17 years, Lisa moved to the Managing Director role of Ford’s UK arm in 2020. The new all-electric Ford E-Transit helped Ford end 2022 on a high, scooping the GREENFLEET Vehicle of the Year award. The e-LCV focus has been a notable one for Ford during 2022, with the announcement of the connected Ford Pro ecosystem, and the launches of the E-Transit Custom, of which the current family is the best-selling LCV in the UK.

17 h Paul Hollick Chairman, Association of Fleet Professionals, and MD, Lightfoot

Paul Hollick is chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) – the not-for-profit body that supports, educates and trains the corporate fleet industry – and oversees the output of seven individual committees. He also leads the organisation’s extensive conference, training and webinar programmes. In 2022 he also added the Managing Director role of Lighfoot to his CV, in which he helps the company reach more fleets with its driver training software and telematics.

16 h Mark Barrett General Manager, Harris Maxus

GREENFLEET’S LCV Manufacturer of the Year winner, Maxus, enjoyed another busy year in 2022. Not only did the company launch the new T90EV, an electric light commercial pickup truck with a range of 220 miles from its 88.55kWh battery and 150kW motor, but the electric LCV company also launched an extensive EV Support Programme to both encourage and support fleet buyers to switch to EVs, subsidising over 2,000 eDeliver 9 vans.

15 h Alex Smith Managing Director, Volkswagen Group UK

Re-joining Volkswagen Group UK in January 2019, Alex Smith was previously Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars UK. Building on the 2021 successes for the UK arm of the German manufacturer, 2022 gave more reasons to celebrate. The number one car brand in the UK for sales, the ID.3 made the top 10 best-selling EVs list, and new arrivals in the shape of the ID.5 coupé-SUV and the campervan-referencing ID. Buzz wowed EV light commercial drivers.

14 NEW Edmund King OBE, President, the AA

President of the Automobile Association since 2008, Edmund is a true electric vehicle advocate. He speaks at EV and transport-focused events and webinars, and lobbies and campaigns passionately on all forms of safety and environmental issues. Also a visiting Professor of Transport at Newcastle University, Edmund represents the AA on motoring think tanks, the government’s Motorists’ Forum, and on working groups. He called for more accessible charge points for electric vehicles as one of his campaign points in 2022.

13 NEW Alex Avila Head of Plan Zero Consulting and e-Mobility, Mitie

Alex joined Mitie in 2021, bringing extensive experience in the energy transition and decarbonisation of transport. Leading the E-Mobility and EV business within Mitie Energy, Alex works with Mitie clients on carbon reduction, fleet electrification, and the development of associated charging infrastructure. Mitie has recently secured a £4.3 million contract to install around 250 EV charge points at more than 120 job centres for the Department for Work and Pensions, and it was crowned Private Sector Car Fleet of the Year at the 2022 GREENFLEET Awards.

12 h Dr Ben Lane CTO and Co-Founder, & Melanie Shufflebotham, COO and Co-Founder, Zap-Map

Ben and Melanie co-founded Zap-Map, the award-winning EV charging website and app in June 2014. Seen as the authority on the UK’s public charging network, around 70 per cent of all EV drivers are registered users. In 2022 Zap-Map raised £9 million in a Series A fundraising round, with investment from Fleetcor and Good Energy. A big raft of new partner announcements include Allstar, Just Charge, Mer, Motability Operations, Nissan GB, the RAC, Select Car Leasing, and Tusker.

11 NEW Bob Moran Deputy Director, Decarbonisation Strategy, DfT

19-year veteran of the DfT, Bob is a professional engineer with 20 years’ experience of evidence-based policy development and delivery in the public and private sectors. He has been Deputy Director of the Decarbonisation Strategy since 2021. Among the DfT’s decarbonisation projects are the Decarbonising Local Roads competition, which has awarded £30 million of government funding to seven innovative, UK net zero projects, as well as a £7 million tech fund to decarbonise freight and boost innovation.

10 h Lorna McAtear Head of Fleet, National Grid

Lorna has experience in complex and large fleets with between 2,00049,000-plus vehicles, and has looked after the fleet of National Grid for over three years. Switching to low emission vehicles is a big part of the National Grid’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2050. Recipient of the GREENFLEET Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2022, Lorna is ensuring that the company’s pool of light-duty vehicles will move to a 100 per cent electric fleet by 2030. Previously, Lorna has led on several electric vehicle related projects including Optimise Prime, and is a board member of the Association of Fleet Professionals.

9 h Toddington Harper CEO, GRIDSERVE

Toddington’s pioneering parents introduced some of the first commercial solar energy and battery storage solutions over 40 years ago, so a career in sustainable energy was never going to be an inappropriate avenue for him to explore. GRIDSERVE was created in September 2017 to deliver that sustainable energy to customers, and its most notable successes include the birth of 100 per cent Electric Forecourts. The first of this series of high-powered EV recharging stations opened in Braintree, Essex in the autumn of 2020, with another site at Norwich welcoming EV drivers in 2022. A total of 100 locations are planned, adding to the motorway service sites that GRIDSERVE operates following its takeover of Ecotricity’s Electric Highway. This network expanded greatly in 2022, with all legacy motorway chargers now replaced.

8 h Denise Beedell Senior Policy Manager, Logistics UK

Logistics UK is the UK’s only organisation which represents all sectors of the logistics industry. Denise has been at the company for over four years, and specialises in vans, urban policy, London Lorry Control Scheme, electric vehicles, as well as water freight in London. She helps deliver Logistics UK’s policy agenda on all urban and environmental issues, proactively leading policy work on vans and commercial vehicle electrification, charging regimes, decarbonisation, access restrictions, regulatory requirements, and transport and planning issues. This involves discussion forums, information services, and publications, as well as liaison with Logistics UK members, communication to external audiences, and briefing members on policy and regulatory issues that impact their business. In 2022, Logistics UK welcomed its 20,000th member.

7 Natasha Robinson Joint Head of Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)

An electric vehicle driver herself, Joint Head Natasha Robinson leads OZEV, formerly the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), alongside Gary Cooke and Katie Black. Remaining a joint unit between the UK Government’s Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2022, against a backdrop of double-digit EV registrations, OZEV announced a £1.6 billion government fund to expand the UK charging network. Around 300,000 public chargers are expected to be installed by 2030. This was in addition to a new pilot scheme backed by £20 million of both government and industry funding to install more than 1,000 new electric vehicle charge points in nine local authorities. This new focus on charging saw the Plug-in Car Grant discontinued, but the scheme helped increase EV sales from less than 1,000 in 2011 to almost 100,000 in the first five months of 2022. E