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UK businesses speed up shift to clean energy

23 April 2019, 23:01 UTC 3 min read

  • FTSE 100’s RBS and Landsec demonstrate corporate leadership with commitments to electric transport, renewable electricity and energy productivity
  • Among new announcements, RBS to switch whole vehicle fleet to electric as well as install 450 new electric vehicle (EV) charge points by 2025 and 600 by 2030; Landsec to increase the number of EV charge points across its property portfolio by the end of 2019
  • International non-profit The Climate Group welcomes both companies to its global business action initiatives

London, April 24: British companies RBS and Landsec have today raised the bar for corporate leadership by taking ambitious steps across electric transport, energy efficiency and renewable power – three critical areas for delivering a clean economy by 2050.

Demonstrating that emissions reduction goes hand-in-hand with business growth, they are the first companies in the world to become members of all three corporate leadership initiatives of The Climate Group, the international non-profit dedicated to accelerating climate action. These initiatives are focused on electric vehicles (EV100), energy productivity (EP100), and renewable power (RE100).

Today RBS announced it will switch 300 vehicles to electric and encourage staff uptake of EVs by building on the 12 charge points it already offers and providing a further 450 by 2025 and 600 by 2030, as a new member of EV100. The bank also joined EP100 and will improve its energy productivity by 40% by 2025 against its 2015 baseline.

Landsec, one of the largest commercial property development and investment companies in the UK, will increase the number of EV charge points across its portfolio to over 300 by the end of 2019, as a new member of EV100. The company has been a member of EP100 since 2017 and is committed to doubling its energy productivity within 20 years from 2014 levels.  

Both companies are already committed to 100% renewable electricity as members of RE100 (led by The Climate group in partnership with CDP), with Landsec already consuming over 95% of its electricity from renewable sources and RBS almost 75% of the way to its 2025 commitment. The bank has already achieved 100% renewable electricity in the UK and Ireland.

 

RBS

The bank has already upgraded 103 Building Management Systems (BMS) which are reporting 18% energy savings in a year thanks to efforts at its data centers, such as reducing IT loads, a new data hall, new chiller systems, and technology to help identify and reduce inefficiencies.

Laura Barlow, Sustainable Energy Sponsor and Head of Large Corporates and Institutions, RBS, said:

“At RBS, we recognise the urgency of action around climate change and managing our own footprint is a significant aspect of that. Through procuring 100% renewable electricity, improving our energy productivity and decarbonising transportation we are able to contribute to global efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

“We are pleased to be able to show leadership in becoming one of the first organisations to commit to all three of The Climate Group’s campaigns and encourage our customers and colleagues to make the same transition towards a low carbon economy.”

Landsec

Landsec already has 189 EV charging points installed at 15 locations across its property portfolio. Going forward, Landsec will install charging infrastructure at all its retail and leisure destinations, to support the increasing number of customers who are opting for EVs as demonstrated by the company’s own data collection.

Caroline Hill, Head of Sustainability and Public Affairs, Landsec, said:

“Landsec is pleased to announce our ambitions to drive up electric vehicle charging infrastructure in support of our commitment to acting on climate change. We understand that more and more of our customers are opting to drive electric vehicles and we want to ensure they have the opportunity to charge when visiting a Landsec asset. 

“We are also delighted to be named as one of the first companies to join all three of The Climate Group’s business initiatives, following our previous commitments to procuring 100% renewable power and doubling our energy productivity.”

For more information, contact: Marie Reynolds, Senior Communications Manager – Business Initiatives, The Climate Group on [email protected]