- Innovative recycling company, First Mile, installs new charging infrastructure to support EV fleet
- Octopus Group supports First Mile’s net-zero ambition with transport proposition
- Octopus Energy’s ‘Electric Juice’ provides 100% renewable power to charge First Mile’s EVs
Octopus Group, the London-headquartered financial services and energy firm, has supported recycling company First Mile’s efforts to reduce emissions, with the installation of charging infrastructure at their west London depot. The chargepoints will be powered by guaranteed fully renewable energy supplied by Octopus Energy and will support First Mile’s new EV fleet.
First Mile, the leading London-based recycling company, has been taking steps towards reducing the emissions of its collection process since 2017, when it launched its first zero-emission collection round in central London using cargo bike. This was followed by the purchase of its first electric vans later that year. Recently, the company has added a further five new electric vans to its fleet, as it continues to transition to a low-carbon collection process.
Octopus Energy for Business will supply First Mile’s chargepoints with renewable energy to charge their fleet from their Electric Juice offer, a green power supply service targeted specifically at the electric transport sector. Electric Juice allows customers to choose from four, flexible tariffs, and makes use of data-led analysis to help guide businesses on which is best suited for their usage profiles.
Octopus is helping fleets go green
The collaboration with First Mile is the latest partnership making use of Octopus’ Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS) offering, which provides a range of innovative and highly flexible solutions to help commercial fleet operators go green.
Octopus offers pay-as-you-drive financing, enabling fleet managers to better manage their cash flow by matching repayments to rental income and usage, while Octopus Energy is able to supply renewable energy from a range of flexible tariffs.
The financing solution helps fleet managers reduce the risk of investing heavily in zero-emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as the maintenance that comes with it. It also provides real-time fleet data, enabling fleet managers and owners to maximise the operational efficiency of their vehicles.
Michal Szuminski, Transport Manager at First Mile, said:
“Our vision is to help the environment by encouraging businesses to recycle, and we believe our fleet should also reflect this. We continue to take steps in this direction by incorporating electric vehicles into our fleet. Our partnership with Octopus has allowed us to take this one step further, with our new charging infrastructure also being supplied by fully renewable energy. It has been great to work alongside a company that is as passionate about the environment and the transition towards zero-emissions as we are.”
Daniel Saunders, Investment Director at Octopus, added:
“Providing businesses with the support to transition towards EV fleets is key for the UK to meet our ambitious emission targets in the transport sector. It’s an exciting time for us, as more and more businesses like First Mile look for solutions to help reduce emissions from their fleet. It’s been a pleasure to work with First Mile, whose business model is centred on sustainability and transitioning towards a more circular economy, values that we wholeheartedly support.”
Zoisa Walton, CEO of Octopus Energy for Business, said:
“In 2018 transport accounted for a third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, it’s an incredibly responsible move for fleet providers to begin switching their vans to electric transport and their supply to clean, green, renewable energy. We’re so excited to be partnering with First Mile on this and hope to see more business fleets follow suit with Electric Juice.”
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