VIDEO: IT business leaders visit Gridserve's state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging station in Braintree
With a "sunshine-to-wheel" model and 36 electric vehicle chargers, Gridserve's Electric Forecourt in Braintree is known as something of a 'Mecca' among EV enthusiasts.
But the supercharging station also reflects the challenge facing the IT, technology and other industries as they look to harness renewable electricity and reach net zero.
Earlier this year, BusinessGreen invited leaders from three leading IT services companies - Jigsaw24's founder and CEO Roger Whittle, Computacenter's UK business enablement director and sustainability lead Clare Parry-Jones, and Softcat's business development director Alastair Wynn - to compare notes on their own EVs and their companies' respective decarbonisation strategies at Gridserve's state-of-the-art EV charging site.
After all, the IT sector arguably has as big a role to play in the UK's net zero transition as any other. While the energy consumption and e-waste it generates make it one of the dirtiest sectors going, efforts are underway to reduce both, while technology also has a vital role to play in helping other industries decarbonise.
All three companies featured in the above video have recently introduced electric cars into their fleets, with Softcat and Computacenter both recently unveiling plans to reach net zero across their supply chains by 2040.
Together they discuss the scale of the challenge they and similar businesses face, how they are tackling their scope 3 emissions, the need to combat so-called 'range anxiety' in order to drive up EV use across the UK.
This video was produced as part of CRN's Tech Impact Awards 2022, which take place virtually on Thursday 15 September.
