The Climate Group has announced that global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will join its business leadership initiative on electric vehicles, EV100. AstraZeneca is setting new standards for industry leadership on tackling air pollution and climate change by announcing a switch of its 16,000 strong vehicle fleet to electric to limit the health impacts of air pollution across the globe.
The company, which is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with major corporate sites in the US and Sweden, is the first pharmaceutical company to join the EV100 initiative by The Climate Group, the international non-profit accelerating climate action.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said:
“When a pharmaceutical company says we need to go electric to help everyone breathe clean air, every business with a fleet needs to listen. This is great example of a company addressing the global climate and air pollution crisis. As the first global healthcare company to flip its fleet through EV100, and the 50th large business to do so, AstraZeneca is setting a new benchmark in the drive to electric vehicles.”
Katarina Ageborg, EVP, Sustainability and Chief Compliance Officer, AstraZeneca, said:
“Recognising the link between a healthy environment and human health, we believe that by investing in electric vehicles and emissions-reduction initiatives, we can help reduce the burden of respiratory diseases and other air pollution-related conditions. Environmental stewardship will prevent disease as well as protect the planet for future generations.
“Sustainable business is about addressing the impact of our activities on both the planet and on people’s health and this needs to be a joint effort. We should all work together in partnership on climate action.”
AstraZeneca is the 50th business to join the EV100 initiative overall, signalling the rapid global growth of corporate demand for EVs. Companies representing US$900 billion in annual turnover and 2,8 million employees in total are now committed to electrifying transport through the initiative.
To support the shift to electric vehicles, AstraZeneca will also expand the charging infrastructure at its office sites. The company expects the switch to EVs to save it over 80,000 metric tonnes CO2 every year from 2030.
The company is also a member of The Climate Group’s RE100 initiative, in partnership with CDP, where it is committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity by 2020 in Europe and the US and for its global operations by 2025.
