KINGSPAN EMBARKS ON TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET

Kingspan, the maker of high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions, is transitioning its entire company fleet to electric vehicles, targeting to only acquire zero emissions cars by 2025. The company has recently taken delivery of three Tesla EV vehicles, taking its global EV fleet to 69. Kingspan is also installing a new six-bay Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station at its recently opened IKON global innovation centre in Kingscourt, Cavan, which will help to ensure that each car’s charge can be derived from 100% renewable energy. The EVs will replace older, petrol and diesel models and will be used by the company for visits to clients, contractors, architects and sites.

The push towards zero emission cars is part of Kingspan’s Planet Passionate programme, an ambitious 10-year global sustainability strategy that aims to impact on three big global issues: climate change, circularity and protection of our natural world. Specific commitments the company strives to reach by 2030 as part of its Planet Passionate Programme include:

Energy: powering 60% of all Kingspan operations directly from renewable energy while generating the equivalent of 20% of its energy demand on manufacturing sites
Carbon: achieving net zero carbon manufacturing and a 50% reduction in product C02 intensity from primary supply partners
Circularity: upcycling of 1 billion PET bottles per annum into insulation products plus zero company waste to landfill across all sites
Water: harvesting 100 million litres of Kingspan’s water usage from rainwater.

Bianca Wong, Global Head of Sustainability at Kingspan, commented: “As a company, we have committed to reduce significantly our carbon footprint across our value chain by 2030. The acquisition of these state-of-the-art vehicles and installation of the charging station supports our broader Planet Passionate vision and our target to acquire only zero emission company cars by 2025. By leveraging the latest in innovation in the motor industry and striving to be Planet Passionate in everything we do, we are confident we can achieve the goals we have set our business.”

Marci Bonham, Managing Director of Kingspan Insulated Panels in Ireland and Kingspan Energy, commented: “Implementing our mission to reduce our impact on the planet is progressing rapidly. This latest delivery brings the total number of electric vehicles in our global fleet to 69, and our Irish teams are pleased to be among the first in the company to make this move to zero emissions cars. There is a strong commitment by Kingspan to incorporate carbon reductions into all areas of the business. This is one more step towards our net zero targets.”

Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine

Email: michael@irishconstruction.com      WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE