Why and how AstraZeneca electrifies its global fleet by 2030

Pharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca is joining EV100, the club of corporates pledging to electrify their vehicle fleet by 2030. 

This means AstraZeneca's fleet of around 16,000 corporate vehicles across the US, Europe and Japan will go electric, cutting more than 80,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions each year from 2030. That's a major boost for the fight against both climate change and air pollution. AstraZeneca's global fleet is managed by Andy Leeden, Global Category Manager Fleet, and former International Fleet Manager of the Year (pictured). 

Green Fleet
Confirming the news, an AZ spokesperson specified that “this new EV commitment builds on our existing Green Fleet initiative, where we committed to achieve a 100% hybrid, plug-in (PHEV) or EV fleet in Europe, North America and Japan by 2025, launched with 12,500 vehicles.  At the end of Q1 2019, 10% of our fleet met those criteria. Our 2025 target is part of our roadmap to 2030 and hybrids are part of the electrification transition.”
 
“In the US, a new hybrid-only car list means 2,000 hybrid cars delivered by 2020, and by 2022 our entire US fleet will comprise of hybrid vehicles. In Japan, the commercial fleet is currently made up of hybrid and conventional vehicles, which will be switching over to electric between now and 2030.”
 
Sufficient range
“In terms of distance, the inclusion of hybrids as well as EVs means we believe we will have vehicles with a sufficient range to meet our needs, and we are closely monitoring the progress made on extending EV ranges to date, hopefully making this a moot point by 2030.”

AstraZeneca’s next step is to focus on the immediate rollout in Europe, and on installing the necessary charging infrastructure. The company already has 136 charging points installed at its offices in Södertälje, Sweden, 30 at its site in Macclesfield, UK and we 9 rapid-chargers at its offices in Luton, UK.  

50 members
EV100 is an initiative of The Climate Group. AstraZeneca's commitment means the club now has reached 50 members: all are major corporates committed to electrifying their entire fleet by 2030. 

They include Baidu, Deutsche Post DHL, EDF, Heathrow Airport, IKEA, LeasePlan, Unilever and Vattenfall. In all, the companies committed to EV100 now represent an annual turnover of $900 billion and 2.8 million employees across the globe. 

“Great example”
“When a pharmaceutical company says we need to go electric to help everyone breathe clean air, every business with a fleet needs to listen,” says Helen Clark, CEO of The Climate Group. 

“This is a great example of a company addressing the global climate and air pollution crisis. As the first global healthcare company to flip its fleet through EV100, and the 50th large business to do so, AstraZeneca is setting a new benchmark in the drive to electric vehicles.” 

RE100
AstraZeneca is also signed up to RE100, another initiative by The Climate Group. RE100 means partner companies are committed to source 100% of their electricity from renewable sources, by 2020 in the US and Europe and by 2025 across the globe. 

In another first for EV100, the UK government is the first government to act as an ambassador for the initiative, which means it will encourage all large UK businesses to electrify their fleets and use its network of embassies to bring that request to companies worldwide. 

The UK is the first G7 nation to have formally adopted a net-zero emissions target, seeking to eliminate its contribution to global warming by 2050 via its Road to Zero strategy.

Do you want to find out how you can deal with EVs in your fleet? Attend the 2019 Fleet Europe Summit!