Electric van creates a buzz

Affinity Sutton creates a buzz in electric van

Caretakers at national affordable housing provider Affinity Sutton are helping to cut their carbon footprint in an electric van.

The Environmental Services Team, based in Bromley, has introduced a 100% electric van to its fleet of 30 vehicles and is cleaning up estates across South London driving a zero-emissions Renault Kangoo ZE.

 The plug-in and charge van takes around six hours to charge and has around a 100KM range for a single journey. Voted van of the year in 2011 – it is also 35% cheaper to run than a diesel vehicle.

David Beckford, Operations Manager for Affinity Sutton, which has around 15,000 homes in Bromley, said: “As a responsible landlord we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and our new electric van is not only environmentally friendly but cheaper to run than a conventional vehicle too.

“We will be monitoring the effectiveness of the vehicle by recording its daily mileage and recharging costs – enabling us to calculate fuel savings. We estimate we could save up to £1000 a year compared to a conventional vehicle.

“If the benefits are clear, the team will consider adding more electric vans as we update the fleet.”