Electric vehicle charging stations

There are over 32 million registered cars in the UK as of the end of 2019, almost 50% more than there were just 25 years ago. If car growth continues at that pace, there’ll be almost 50 million cars on the roads by 2043. 

But transport is already the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, accounting for up to 34% of all carbon emissions. Unless we all decide not to drive cars from now on, which seems unlikely, the only solution to this problem is to tackle the amount of carbon emissions that our transport habits emit. 

There are several ways of doing that, including using public transport, but one method that’s gaining a lot of traction is the use of electric or hybrid cars. In order for them to be viable, though, the right infrastructure needs to exist to make them just as convenient as a fossil-fuel powered car. 

That’s why we’ve installed electric vehicle charging points at our two biggest office properties – Eghams Court and Burnham House. Read on to learn more about what we’re doing and why it’s important.

EV charging stations at Shellwin

The electric car market is growing rapidly, with the latest estimates putting the number of pure-electric vehicles on UK roads at around 245,000 and the total number of plug-in electric cars (including hybrids) over 500,000. That’s a significant number of drivers who can make use of EV charging points, but it’s still less than 2% of all registered cars in the UK.

At Shellwin, innovation and ESG principles are embedded in our strategy and decision making process. We firmly believe in doing the right thing to contribute to the UK’s carbon reduction commitments and that is why installing EV charge points was an easy decision. Added to that, we realised that none of our competitors had yet invested in the technology so an added bonus is that it differentiates us in the short term. We do hope it is just the short term though, as we want to see this infrastructure rolled across the country to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles. 

With our decision validated, we reached out to Elmtronics, an award-winning supplier and installer of electric vehicle charging equipment. The process of surveying and installing the charging points was seamless, and the aftercare programme is thorough and comprehensive.

Our two most prominent office properties, Eghams Court in Bourne End and Burnham House in Burnham Village, are now both fully equipped to cater for EV drivers, and we’re excited to have taken another step towards becoming the fully sustainable business we aim to be. We have been overwhelmed with the positive response from occupiers, many of whom have now put a possible EV purchase to the forefront of their minds. 

Working alongside other occupiers, we are currently planning the next stage of our EV charge point roll out to our largest industrial estate to make provision for not only electric ‘domestic’ cars but large commercial vehicles too. 

Are electric cars better for the environment?

In a word – yes! There are plenty of people who are sceptical about the actual energy-efficiency of electric cars, and there are some reasons for doubt, but the evidence speaks for itself. Here are some statistics from EDF Energy that highlight why electric vehicles are a good choice from an environmental perspective:

• Carbon emissions of an electric car are 17-30% lower than a fossil fuel equivalent, even considering fossil fuels used in electricity generation
• Over a year, using an electric car instead of a petrol or diesel saves an average of 1.5 million grams of CO2
• More than a third of the lifetime CO2 emissions from an electric car occur during the manufacturing process – a process which is constantly getting more efficient
  

In other words, there’s very clear evidence that a mass-scale switch to electric cars over petrol or diesel powered alternatives would be a significant net positive in terms of reducing CO2 emissions from transport. We’re excited to be contributing towards the infrastructure that will help that become a reality. 

If you have any questions about our EV charging stations, or how you can install them for your own business, don’t hesitate to get in touch!