Keeping people at the centre of the EV transition
Mitie is driving its EV transition at a speed and scale few can match. In 2024 alone, Britain’s leading facilities transformation company welcomed the 4,000th, 5,000th, and 6,000th EV to its fleet. The latest boost came from a large order of the Volkswagen Buzz ID, which meets many of Mitie’s complex business requirements – and driver needs.
Mitie’s approach of listening closely to the concerns of its colleagues has led to some of its most reluctant drivers becoming EV advocates – and the company is already eyeing its 7,000th milestone.
When Mitie set out on its EV100 commitment to be fully electric across a large and diverse company fleet by the end of 2025, the company acknowledged it couldn’t achieve such momentous change without the buy-in of the people affected most. Nor could it neglect the real challenges that continue to be attached to EV charging. The needs of its drivers had to be acknowledged – and their concerns acted upon.
A programme of support guides employees through the transition
This translated into a set of measures to ensure drivers felt supported every step of the way. Mitie installs home charging points at colleagues’ homes where possible, tailored vehicles are chosen to suit the specific requirements of drivers, and it ensured drivers are never out of pocket for charging a vehicle. This is thanks to EV public charge cards given to drivers, as well as a system for Mitie to pay colleagues’ energy providers directly, rather than the burden falling on drivers.
In a turbulent EV landscape, where regulation, market confidence and innovation fluctuate, Mitie is keen to stress that an organisation needs to be aligned from top to bottom to face the challenges of the EV transition.
Openness, creativity and persistence are key ingredients to success
The solutions for driving a successful EV transition may not always be readily available, or fit a specific business requirement, and creative answers must be found. The vehicles Mitie uses to clean customer windows, for example, were traditionally petrol- or diesel-fuelled. They carry heavy water tanks, which are filled up at the beginning of each day – the sheer weight of the tanks looked to be a challenge for the planned EV replacement.
Determined to find a solution, Mitie worked closely with the mobile cleaning teams to develop a smaller tank and changed the process so refills could happen during the day. Now its cleaning vehicles can also be part of one of the UK’s largest – and fastest-growing – EV fleets.
"Our EV transition is central to Mitie’s Plan Zero commitment to reach net zero operational emissions by the end of 2025, and we’re proud to boast one of the UK’s largest electric fleets – now at more than 6,000 EVs. We have worked tirelessly to overcome challenges and find creative ways to meet our driver’s needs through a diverse fleet.
“Whilst we have come a long way, the journey is far from over and we’re excited to continue finding innovative ways to transition the rest of our fleet to electric. Tapping into EV100 as a platform for organisations to learn from each other in the shared pursuit of a greener future has supported these transition efforts.” – Chris Cubberley, Head of Fleet, Mitie
Mitie Group plc is the leading technology-led facilities transformation company in the UK. Mitie looks after the places where Britain works – from banks, offices and retailers, to hospitals, schools, transport infrastructure and critical strategic government assets. The company operates a large, complex fleet of company cars, vans, and other specialist vehicles, and has already transitioned more than 70% of its fleet to electric since joining EV100 in 2019. Fleet electrification is central to the company’s wider Plan Zero goals to reach net zero operations by the end of 2025.