Landsec and RBS become first companies to join RE100, EV100 and EP100

Property developer Landsec and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have become the first two firms in the world to have joined all three of The Climate Group's sustainable business programmes - RE100, EV100 and EP100.


Landsec and RBS become first companies to join RE100, EV100 and EP100

The two companies both joined EV100 today (24 April)

The initiatives focus on sourcing 100% renewable energy, switching to 100% electric vehicles (EVs) and achieving maximum energy productivity, respectively.

Both RBS and Landsec have previously joined the RE100, with the former having recently pledged to source 80% renewables by 2020, before using certificates to reach 100% five years later, and the latter having powered its retail estate with 100% renewable electricity since 2016.

But today (24 April), both Landsec and RBS also committed to the EV100, which aims to help make zero-emission transport “the new normal” by 2030. 

Under EV100, RBS will replace 300 vehicles fleet with fully electric alternatives on an ongoing basis. To support this shift, it will install a further 450 EV chargers across its estate by 2025 and take its total charge point stock past the 600 mark by 2030. To put these figures into perspective, the bank currently hosts just 12 EV charging points.

Landsec, meanwhile, has pledged to ensure that it has at least 300 EV charging points installed across its UK portfolio of retail, leisure, office and domestic properties by the end of 2019. 

As for the EP100, RBS has today joined the scheme, which is run in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy and delivered in association with the World Green Building Council’s (WGBC) net-zero carbon buildings commitment team. The programme’s aim is to “bring together a growing group of energy-smart companies” to make energy efficiency an integral part of business strategies.

RBS will aim to increase its energy productivity by 40% by 2025, against a 2015 baseline, under EP100. The move builds on its investment in upgrading 103 Building Management Systems (BMS) for greater energy efficiency.

“At RBS, we recognise the urgency of action around climate change and managing our own footprint is a significant aspect of that.” RBS’s sustainable energy sponsor and head of large corporates and institutions Laura Barlow said.

“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.”

Landsec has already committed to the EP100 initiative and is reportedly on track to meet its 2030 goal of cutting its carbon intensity by 40% by 2030 against a 2013-2014 baseline.

“We are 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,” Landsec’s head of sustainability and public affairs Caroline Hill added.

“We understand that more and more of our customers are opting to drive EVs and we want to ensure they have the opportunity to charge when visiting a Landsec asset.”

EV100 boon

The announcements from Landsec and RBS come shortly after The Climate Group published its first EV100 annual progress report, revealing that 31 companies had joined the initiative between its 2017 launch and February 2019. 

The coalition of companies, which includes the likes of BTIkea and Unilever, have collectively pledged to electrify more than 145,000 vehicles by 2030, according to the report, with the majority prioritising their city-based fleets in a bid to reduce air pollution.

In total, EV100 has spurred the adoption of 10,000 low-carbon vehicles to date and is now targeting two million vehicles by 2030.

However, a lack of infrastructure is a key challenge facing EV100 members if they are to achieve their EV visions. During its research for the report, the Climate Group also asked all EV100 members what the key barriers to EV adoption for their organisations were, with seven out of ten citing a lack of charging infrastructure as their biggest concern. This finding echoes a string of reports recently published by the likes of PwC, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Department for Transport, which all concluded that investment into EVs themselves is currently outstripping commitments to supporting infrastructure for charging.

Sarah George

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