Mo Abbas, strategy and marketing executive at last-mile delivery group ANC Delivers, announced plans on this week’s Fleet News Group podcast with host Caroline Falls for an initiative to accelerate Australian fleets’ transition to electric vehicles.
ANC and partners including Fleet News Group, LDV Australia, Evie Networks and CarBon, will launch the ‘Take the Pledge’ campaign on World EV Day — on Saturday, September 9.
The campaign — Take the Pledge — is aimed at getting organisations to pledge publicly their intentions on how many vehicles in their fleets they will switch to electric powertrains.
“We’re launching a nationwide campaign to encourage companies across Australia and in fact further abroad to take the pledge and commit to adding zero emission vehicles to their fleet, so that we can support sustainable transport practices,” said Abbas, adding, “What we are trying to achieve is galvanise a commitment to an energy transition, one that’s tangible, and that’s backed by a hard commitment by a specific endpoint.”
ANC is committing to 100 electric vehicles by the end of 2025. It already has about 20, including a couple of three-wheeled tuk tuks, in its fleet of more than 1,000 vans and trucks nationwide.
Making a public commitment now to convert to low-emission vehicles will lock organisations in as members of the public, and the press will hold them to account, said Abbas.
Organisations can register their commitment and demonstrate to their staff, customers and other stakeholders that reducing emissions from transport operations is an important goal.
“For us, this is about uniting the industry around some tangible actions that we can collectively take and individually take to drive energy transition in Australia,” said Abbas, whose brainchild the initiative is.
World EV Day was first celebrated four years ago.
“It’s now in its fourth year. The day in essence, unites companies and individuals, policymakers and thought leaders in fact for a day of activations and announcements that continue to propel the e-mobility movement across the globe,” Abbas said on the podcast.
World EV Day gained attention of global political leaders, including being discussed in the UK Parliament. It was celebrated by the White House’s top climate advisors in 2022, and achieved over 300 million Twitter impressions with the likes of Ford, ABB, LeasePlan, and many others joining to celebrate e-mobility as a movement, Abbas said.
Abbas also talks on the podcast about ANC’s trial of the tuk tuks, and bringing more of them into the country.
