FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
By Jonathan Ling, Legal & HR Director
Over the last few years, we’ve achieved a huge reduction in carbon emissions by electrifying our vehicle fleet – and taken another step closer to our company goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.
With transportation so important to JLA’s business model, our vehicles – including HGVs, vans and company cars – have always made up the majority of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
It’s why, in 2021, we set out to transfer the entirety of our company car fleet from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric alternatives (EVs), while also targeting an 80% electric/hybrid van fleet by 2030.
The road to JLA’s EV transition
To get there, we’ve taken a phased approach, replacing ICE vehicles with EVs at the point of lease renewal, and making sure employees are only offered electric options. These include premium EV models from Tesla and Polestar, boasting longer ranges and strong performance, which have helped to overcome staff concerns about range and driving experience.
We also launched an internal education campaign that’s focused on personal tax advantages (including lower Benefit in Kind contributions) and key environmental benefits, including carbon savings, as well as practical guidance on EV use and charging.
Our journey to EV success
To make things easier for our people making the switch, we’ve also funded the installation of EV chargers for all staff opting into the scheme, and upgraded all our major sites with on-site EV charging points.
The project has been a huge success, with our latest figures showing that:
- 99% of our company cars are now fully electric, with the remaining 1% hybrid-electric
- Our Scope 1 emissions have been reduced by 11%, from 4,071 tCO2e in 2022 to 3,550 tCO2e
- Over 140 JLA employees have had home chargers installed
- We’re well on track to electrify 80% of our engineer van fleet by 2030
- Our people satisfied with vehicle quality, their lower personal tax burden, and ease of use
Collaborating with Novuna
We worked closely with Novuna Vehicle Solutions to drive the change throughout each stage of the process.
“JLA has led the way in EV adoption, partnering with Novuna four years ago to begin their fleet transition.”
Together, we created a robust EV policy and digital tools to support driver confidence, including a familiarisation course completed before delivery, and our EV Hub, which helps drivers understand critical information when selecting an electric vehicle and managing in-life charging, both at home and on the road.
“JLA were also the first to roll out our depot-based charging solution and continues to trial electric vans to future-proof their LCV fleet. With a new contract term underway, our shared commitment to innovation and decarbonisation remains stronger than ever.”
Other key initiatives
Alongside our company car initiative, we’ve also adopted a ‘fast, lean and smart’ (FLS) approach to scheduling for our 450 engineers. Using real-time planning tools, we’ve been able to reduce the average mileage per customer visit from 27 to 21 miles. With around 200,000 visits each year, this has helped to cut emissions by an extra 400 tCO2e.
We’re proud of the progress we’ve made – and we’re looking forward to going further.
Visit our ESG page for more information on JLA’s sustainability initiatives.
