As you know, we at First Mile believe that everybody plays a role in cutting down air pollution. That's why we were the first waste and recycling company to have a fully ULEZ-compliant fleet months before it came into force in April 2019 - just one of the initiatives we have to tackle air pollution in London.

Now we're excited to have a new infrastructure at our West London depot with charging points powered by Octopus Energy to guarantee fully renewable energy for First Mile’s new electric vehicles.

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 has been taking steps towards reducing the emissions of our collection process since 2017, when we launched the first zero-emission delivery round in central London using a cargo bike. This was followed by the purchase of our first electric vans later that year. Since last summer, our award-winning Sacktory facility also runs entirely on renewable energy. Recently, we have added a further five new electric vans to our fleet, as we continue to transition to a low-carbon process and fighting air pollution.

Octopus Energy for Business will supply First Mile’s charging points with renewable energy to charge our fleet from their Electric Juice initiative, 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. Geeky and clean!

Octopus is helping fleets go green

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

Octopus offers pay-as-you-drive financing, enabling fleet managers to better manage their cash flow by matching repayments to rental income and usage, while Octopus Energy is able to supply renewable energy from a range of flexible tariffs to help every business tackle air pollution.

The financing solution helps fleet managers reduce the risk of investing heavily in zero-emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as the maintenance that comes with it. It also provides real-time fleet data, enabling fleet managers and owners to maximise the operational efficiency of their vehicles. Good for companies, good for drivers and good for the planet!

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. We continue to take steps in this direction by incorporating electric vehicles into our fleet. Our partnership with Octopus has allowed us to take this one step further, with our new charging infrastructure also being supplied by fully renewable energy. It has been great to work alongside a company that is as passionate about the environment and the transition towards zero-emissions as we are.”

​Daniel Saunders, Investment Director at Octopus, added:

“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.”

Zoisa Walton, CEO of Octopus Energy for Business, said:

“In 2018 transport accounted for a third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, it’s an incredibly responsible move for fleet providers to begin switching their vans to electric transport and their supply to clean, green, renewable energy. We’re so excited to be partnering with First Mile on this and hope to see more business fleets follow suit with Electric Juice.”