Meridian Energy has reached a 100% fully-electric light passenger vehicle business fleet in just over three years, nine years before its EV100 target.
By re-imagining its fleet through electrification and right-sizing, Meridian has removed 195 tonnes of carbon from its annual operational footprint – 130 tonnes through transport electrification alone.
“Faster decarbonisation of transport is a key focus for Meridian, for our own fleet and for Aotearoa,” Meridian chief financial officer Mike Roan says.
“We wanted to prove that electrifying a diverse fleet is possible.”
“We also knew we couldn’t take any shortcuts on our journey, it needed to be achieved with no additional fleet investment so our model is scalable for any New Zealand organisation.”
Bringing their own people and other businesses on their journey was key for Meridian.
“When I presented at Drive Electric events and to local councils around New Zealand, my first warning is always that Kiwis have a bit of a ‘thing’ for cars,” procurement and property manager Nick Robilliard says.
“You can’t replace a ute, even if it never goes off road, with a hatchback. But your team’s ears will prick up if you turn up with an electric crossover, it’s as much about the culture fit as it is the technical specs.”
In addition to a culture fit, Meridian achieved its fleet conversion in record time through using GPS data to measure and record trips, enabling fleet requirements to be reassessed.
Meridian also established EV charging infrastructure at its 13 sites and sourced and tested a mix of the right vehicles for fleet requirements.
The final fleet challenge was the last 20%, the remote workers.
The Meridian Agriculture sales team travel up to 250km a day on rural roads, without getting back to the office for an overnight charge.
For the EV transition to be successfully implemented in this environment Meridian created a New Zealand first, a turn-key solution for home-based charging for staff.
“It does require a mindset shift to look at fleet management as more than a short-term plan, but converting your business passenger fleet to zero emissions is possible, right now, and in less than three years,” Robilliard says.
With an average of 21% of New Zealand’s carbon emissions coming from transport, Meridian continues to share its experience, supporting organisations of all fleet sizes from large corporates to local councils on their electrification journey.
Meridian’s EV efforts have featured frequently in EVs and Beyond.
