EV Charging
Rolec chosen as Saint Gobain’s chargepoint partner for the roll out of 4,500 EV charging points
12 December 2023 at 11:07:23
SAINT-GOBAIN UK & IRELAND, one of the UK’s largest manufacturers and distributors of building solutions has signed a new partnership with ROLEC, one of the UK’s leading charging manufacturers, to support the delivery of a 1,000 charger point network across Saint-Gobain’s sites, offices and retail branches over the next 5 years.
The agreement comes on top of Saint-Gobain’s recent commitment to move all of its 3,200 company cars to fully electric by the end of 2023, investments in new Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil [HVO] HGV’s, which will reduce CO2 per mile by around a quarter for its British Gypsum, Artex and some distribution brands and the roll out of electric Mechanical Handling Equipment.
The 1,000 charging point network is in addition to Saint-Gobain’s commitment to install an electric car charging point fitted at 3,200 company car drivers’ homes where they are able to accommodate a charging point.
Over the next five years Saint-Gobain expect these changes to remove 11,000 tonnes of CO2 from their activity.
“Our purpose is Making the World a Better Home and reducing our carbon footprint is integral to this. We are committed to be net zero carbon by 2050 and meet additional science based targets by 2030 so it’s essential we act quickly where we can and accelerate the actions we’re taking to reduce the carbon footprint of our transportation and reduce the impact on the planet from our colleagues who need to drive for work”, said Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland CEO, MIKE CHALDECOTT.
The 1,000 charging point network will allow colleagues and visitors to recharge whilst on-site with brands such as Jewson, British Gypsum, Gibbs & Dandy, Minster and all Saint-Gobain office locations. All Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland brands will benefit from chargers being installed; 500 of the 1,000 locations will be at Jewson branches.
Roll-out of the charging point network is already underway with 750 expected to be installed each year for the next 5 years.
Saint-Gobain will also be using Rolec’s charger management system, VendElectric, which will allow the business to control and manage the charging network and allow it to assess usage and enable colleagues and visitors to find information on real-time charger availability.
Saint-Gobain will also be using Rolec’s charger management system, VendElectric, which will allow the business to control and manage the charging network and allow it to assess usage and enable colleagues and visitors to find information on real-time charger availability.
Mike Chaldecott added: “Having an extensive charging network, for colleagues and visitors, is essential to making the rapid transition to electric cars as easy as possible for people. From the end of 2023 we want colleagues travelling in a company vehicle or on company business to do that in an ultra-low emission electric or hybrid car and over the next five years, with the help of this new partnership we’ll be installing more than 4,000 charging locations country wide – 1,000 of them on our sites for colleagues and visitors. Taking action like this will help us make the change happen as quickly as possible and we’re very pleased with this small but important step to help make the world a better home.”
Jake Hudson, Business Development Manager at Rolec, said: “We are looking forward to working with Saint-Gobain and its brands to provide their locations with electric vehicle charging solutions, suited to their individual requirements. Knowing that businesses like Saint-Gobain are making sustainable commitments for the future of transport is encouraging for the UK’s wider environmental/climate plans; we are delighted to be a part of Saint Gobain’s electric journey for now and for the future.”
