First Mile has taken further steps towards reducing emissions with the installation of charging infrastructure at its west London depot.

The charge points will be powered by guaranteed fully renewable energy and will support First Mile’s new EV fleet.

The installation was supported by Octopus Group, the London-headquartered financial services and energy firm, which also includes Octopus Energy for Business, the commercial green energy supplier. 

First Mile, a London-based recycling company, has been taking steps towards reducing the emissions of its collection process since 2017, when it launched its first zero-emission collection round in central London using cargo bike. This was followed by the purchase of its first electric vans later that year. Recently, the company has added a further five new electric vans to its fleet, as it continues to transition to a low-carbon collection process.

Michal Szuminski, transport manager at First Mile, said: “Our vision is to help the environment by encouraging businesses to recycle, and we believe our fleet should also reflect this.”

Octopus Energy for Business will supply First Mile’s charge points with renewable energy to charge their fleet from their Electric Juice offer, a green power supply service targeted specifically at the electric transport sector.

Electric Juice allows customers to choose from four, flexible tariffs, and makes use of data-led analysis to help guide businesses on which is best suited for their usage profiles. 

The collaboration with First Mile is the latest partnership making use of Octopus’ Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS) offering, which provides a range of solutions to help commercial fleet operators go green. 

Daniel Saunders, investment director at Octopus, said: “Providing businesses with the support to transition towards EV fleets is key for the UK to meet our ambitious emission targets in the transport sector.

“It’s an exciting time for us, as more and more businesses like First Mile look for solutions to help reduce emissions from their fleet. It’s been a pleasure to work with First Mile, whose business model is centred on sustainability and transitioning towards a more circular economy, values that we wholeheartedly support.”

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