For many years, Rockley has been challenging climate change and this past year has been no different. From reusable cups in our Harbour’s Edge Café to reducing the fuel consumption on the water, we have always strived to ensure we are leading the efforts in our local area to reduce our carbon footprint.
With the turn of the year 2020, Peter Gordon, Rockley’s very glamourous owner purchased his and the companies first electric car… a Smart Car. Would this tiny car with a small range of 70 miles be big enough for his big hair to fit inside? The challenge was on for the other company vehicles to follow suit and go green! Rockley, like many others, have been able to re-evaluate their practices over the past two years to work out how we can help the planet whilst also maintaining the personal touch with our clients and also become more efficient with our time and our impact on the environment.
How can we help the environment by having electric cars?
There are many reasons for choosing to go green, from personal expenses to air pollution. The most common is the carbon emissions.
In terms of climate impact, according to the European Commission, combustion engines currently emit around 30% of the EU’s carbon emissions. 72% of this figure relates to the road transport (europarl.europa.eu). EDF energy state that, “in over a year, just one electric car on the roads can save an average 1.5 million grams of CO2.” Over a typical year, Rockley could have up to eight company vehicles in circulation around the country, meaning we could save over 12 million grams of CO2 as a company. Now I know that this is not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but just think, if Rockley can reduce the amount and type of vehicles on the road, then surely other companies across the UK could seriously look at their own impact, and together we can make a huge difference.
In September 2021, Rockley further enhanced our very own ‘go green’ message and impact on the environment by adding two further electric cars to the fleet, replacing two outgoing diesel vehicles. The environment is very much now at the forefront of all our decision making to ensure that we do our bit to protect the environment that we use and love so much.