KCOM hits the road with new green initiatives

KCOM has unveiled the region’s latest four-wheeled weapons in the fight against climate change.

The Hull-based broadband provider has signalled its commitment to become a zero-carbon company by revealing the first vehicles to be part of its new eco-friendly fleet.

Customers will soon be able to spot the three new Nissan Leaf N-Connecta cars and two Renault Kangoo vans in their distinctive green and white liveries out and about on the highways and byways of Hull and East Yorkshire.

Tim Shaw, managing director of KCOM Wholesale & Networks, said green initiatives are now an integral part of the business’s daily decision making and future planning.

He said: “It’s time we all did our bit and stepped up to do whatever we can to help combat the climate emergency the world is facing.

“At KCOM we have been looking into the changes we can make – both big and small – that will have a real impact. I’m delighted to announce that this month we are taking our next step towards being a greener business by introducing five electric vehicles for use by employees.”

The Kangoo vans will be used by engineers surveying locations as part of KCOM’s ambitious £100m full fibre network expansion across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. The Nissan Leaf cars, which can travel 168 miles on a single charge, will primarily be used by staff travelling between the company’s two main Hull offices in Carr Lane and Salvesen Way. Both sites now have fully operational electric charging points installed.

Mr Shaw added that the performance of the full-electric vehicles will be monitored and used to plan how the company can use more electric vehicles and replace its fleet of 200 vans in the future.

The move supports Hull City Council’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2030 after declaring a climate emergency in March last year. The Government has already announced a ban on the sale of all petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

The introduction of the new vehicles is just one of a range of new environmentally-friendly initiatives now underway at KCOM.

The business is also using energy from 100 per cent renewable sources including solar, wind and Combined Heat and Power (CHP).

Mr Shaw said: “I’m delighted to announce that we’re now using renewable energy backed by Ofgem’s REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) certificate across our sites.

“This means that instead of using brown energy produced by traditional fossil fuels, we’re now using green energy which comes from renewable sources, like wind or solar.”

“We use a huge amount of power to support our infrastructure and deliver services to customers – the equivalent of the total energy used by 6,500 homes every year.

“Our traditional use of brown energy would have created a carbon footprint of 7,442 tonnes of C0² emissions which we’ve now eliminated by switching to a sustainable supplier. Although using energy from renewable sources is more expensive, we believe it’s our duty as a business to do whatever we can to help fight climate change, reduce pollution and to make this a better, cleaner world both for our customers now and for future generations.”

Other energy reducing initiatives already underway at KCOM include reducing the reliance on mechanical cooling systems in equipment rooms and installing motion-activated LED lighting throughout office buildings.

The company is also investigating other ways of generating its own renewable energy through the use of solar panels as part of its long-term sustainability strategy.

For more information about KCOM’s plans to promote sustainable working https://www.kcomgroupltd.com/about-us/our-responsibility/sustainability/