Reducing environmental impact, the smarter way.
At ZIGUP, we recognise the importance of achieving a balance between the environment, society, and the economy to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
We have implemented controls and procedures to prevent pollution, safeguard biodiversity, minimise waste, and encourage the efficient use of energy, water, and resources. We integrate good environmental governance into our overall business processes and decision-making to ensure we take a long-term perspective on environmental sustainability.
We are enabling LCV fleet transitions towards low-carbon mobility with industry-leading advisory and EV vehicle capabilities, as well as turnkey charging installation and management services.
Utilising our expertise to enable tower impact mobility, vehicle life span and efficiency optimisation and mitigate environmental risks.
Commitment
Drive transformational change across the company to achieve a 10% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2027. Ensure that 100% of the electricity we consume is renewable by 2027.
FY2024: The progress we made this year
- New, more efficient ICE vehicles and an increasing proportion of EV and hybrid vehicles entering our fleet, along with a reduction in the distances travelled by our vehicles in the UK, have resulted in a 15% overall reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
- 64% of the energy we procured across the Group is renewable, and 17 solar arrays installed throughout our Spanish branches contributed towards 1,518 MWh of energy being created in FY2024.
- Continued investment in energy efficiency has resulted in 90% of sites installing low-energy LED lights.
- We implemented an energy monitoring dashboard to direct energy efficiency actions and better behaviours.
- Our company car policy, focused on non-ICE vehicles, has resulted in 67% of our employee’s cars being either EVs or Plug-in hybrids.
- Detailed emission reduction business plans have been developed in Spain
FY2025: What we plan to do
- Increase the proportion of EVs / Plug-in hybrids company cars to >90% in FY2025
- Increase the proportion of EV service vehicles in our fleet, progressing towards a target of 15%
- Continue to increase the proportion of green energy we procure
- Develop more detailed emission reduction business plans for UK operations, similar to the plans developed in Spain.
Commitment
Embed circular economy principles in our procurement strategy and operations to minimise waste generation and achieve zero waste to landfill by FY2025.
FY2024: The progress we made this year
- We produced 5,703 tonnes of waste in the UK and Spain, with 99% of this waste diverted from landfill in the UK and 90% in Spain.
- We have developed a Waste and Resource Efficiency Policy to promote the adoption of circular economy principles. Examples of this principle in action are
- Using plastic fusion welding equipment to repair bumpers rather than replace them. In the UK, we have c30 welding units in place with 145 people trained to use them in FY2024.
- Green Parts; Our Spanish operations recovered c£3m worth of car parts from vehicles in FY2024, up from c£2m in FY2023, an increase of around 50%.
- Spending on green parts increased by 68% in the UK.
- All used oil collected from ZIGUP sites in the UK is reprocessed into base oil to produce new carbon-efficient lubricating oils. The reprocessing of the oil collected saved c168 tonnes of CO2e.
FY2025: What we plan to do
- Continue to embed circular economy principles across the Group by working with suppliers to reduce disposable packaging.
- We are going to expand the energy monitoring dashboard we developed in FY2024 to include site-by-site level waste performance monitoring of our UK sites.
Case study: Utilising the principles of the circular economy
Green parts – Our team in Spain recovers, restores, and reuses car parts and tyres from vehicles that have been discarded or considered as scrap.
Utilising the principles of the circular economy
The global economy is consuming a diminishing supply of non-renewable natural resources. This drives an increasing focus on efficient resource management, pursuing circular economy principles, outsourcing, and repurposing.
Many high-value vehicle materials are already captured and recycled, but this is being extended across the supply chain, with an increasing focus on minimising landfill and reusing or repairing non-degradable elements such as plastics.
The success of ZIGUP’s end-to-end integrated mobility services is predicated on maximising vehicle life through efficient management, operation, and repair. We have committed to embedding circular economy principles in our procurement strategy and operations to minimise waste generation and achieve zero waste to landfill by 2025.
We have developed a policy on resource efficiency and waste, emphasising the importance of understanding the cost of goods and services over their lifecycle and considering their environmental impact. In collaboration with operations, our procurement team continually works towards optimising the cost and impact of goods and services over their lifecycle.
(CRP) Centro de Recuperación de piezas (Parts recovery centre)
Our team in Spain recovers, restores, and reuses car parts and tyres from vehicles that have been discarded or considered as scrap. Parts considered safety parts are not recovered. Operating locations in Algete, Seville and Zaragoza work together to support the recovery process and ensure these parts are reused to service and repair our fleet.
The benefits of this recovery process are:-
- It reduces the amount of waste that would be sent to landfill sites.
- Lowers environmental impact by reducing the need to produce new parts.
- Provides a more affordable option for our fleet.
- Can avoid vehicle stoppages due to limited stock of new parts
In FY24 the CRP recovered €3.6m worth of car parts and tyres from vehicles, up from €2.4m in FY23, an increase of around 50%.
Commitment
Continually develop our management systems to achieve environmental impact reduction, minimise water consumption and enhance biodiversity, across our estate.
FY2024: The progress we made this year
- The improvements we have made to our environmental data collection processes enable us to publish UK&I water consumption for the first time (99,749m3)
- We have maintained ISO 14001 certification for Northgate business, FMG and Spain.
- Our Spain business has 7 vehicle wash water recycling units in operation.
- Our business in Spain organised two tree-planting events as part of the Northgate Forests initiative. We planted 3,000 trees in various locations, offsetting 670 tonnes of CO2.
FY2025: What we plan to do
- Increase the coverage of ISO 14001 certification to cover ChargedEV, FridgeXpress and Blakedale.
- Improve our data collection processes to report on Spain’s water consumption.
- Utilise a new online compliance portal to enhance our environmental risk, aspect and impact evaluation and prioritisation.
Case study: Tree planting projects
Tree planting projects in Spain to promote and enhance biodiversity and offset carbon emissions.
The Northgate Forests initiative in Spain has held two new reforestation days in Coruña and Malaga. The initiative was launched in 2022 to promote environmental sustainability. It is a reforestation project in collaboration with Bosquia, a company dedicated to planting trees in degraded spaces.
At each of these events, there were up to 50 attendees, including the families of both Northgate customers and employees. These guests were the ones who, first-hand, planted these trees, in addition to receiving environmental education on the importance of caring for the environment.
The initiative, which began in 2022, has already carried out six editions, thanks to which we have planted a total of 3,000 trees in areas of Girona, Madrid, Gijón, and Bilbao, in addition to the most recent ones in Coruña and Malaga. Thanks to these last two editions, the initiative has offset 670 tonnes of CO2 throughout all its planting days.
Commitment
Work with key suppliers to ensure they are setting environmental and social sustainability targets and providing us with products or services that can help to reduce our environmental impact.
FY2024: The progress we made this year
- We have enhanced our supplier prequalification process to address a broader spread of ESG aspects better.
- An MBA student from Durham University undertook a Strategic Business Project focused on sustainable procurement, the findings of which informed our ESG commitments and metrics.
- We developed a suite of performance measurement metrics to target greater recycling at source from our waste contractors
FY2025: What we plan to do
- Identify opportunities for better integration of ESG into their procurement processes in Spain.
- Monitor and evaluate new waste reduction performance targets for our UK contractors.
Case study: Waste oil to base oil: the sustainable approach
Collecting used oil and reprocessing it into a base oil product, a key component in producing brand-new lubricating oil, through a circular process.
Our operations in the UK undertake significant volumes of vehicle servicing, which commonly includes changing the engine oil. This activity generated 342,900 litres of used lubricating oil in FY2024.
Slicker collected the used oil and processed it at its state-of-the-art refinery, which recycles the used oil back into a base oil product—a key component in brand-new lubricating oil.
Other UK-based waste oil service providers predominantly generate Processed Fuel Oil (PFO) from their collected waste oil. This carbon-emitting fuel, used in the marine and energy markets, greatly affects the climate crisis; is still a very significant disposal route for waste oil for the UK automotive industry.
Through this sustainable process provided by Slicker, the oil we generate can be used again and again, preserving a valuable finite resource and greatly cutting our carbon footprint, this we saved us over c164 tonnes of CO2e.
Commitment
Develop a climate change transition plan outlining how we will become net zero by 2050 and enable a just transition towards low carbon mobility, supporting our customers to achieve their net zero aspirations.
FY2024: The progress we made this year
- We refined our approach to Scope 3 emission measurement, utilising Green NCAPs Life Cycle Assessment methodology to determine embodied vehicle emissions more accurately.
- 75% of our locations across the Group have EV charging infrastructure in place.
- We increased the proportion of EV/Hybrids in our fleet to 4.5%, with the fleet emissions across all vehicles also reducing by 1.4% to 263gCO2/km.
- Northgate UK and Ireland and Spain continued to run educational events to improve customers’ knowledge of running EV fleets.
- Northgate UK and Ireland has unveiled a Drive to Zero Platform, enabling customers to assess the suitability of switching to an EV and the associated financial and emission savings.
FY2025: What we plan to do
- Develop our net zero transition plan, which will set out the principles we will follow and the mitigation actions we will take to respond to the global call to action to tackle climate change.
- Deploy a Group-wide carbon literacy training programme
Case study: Drive to zero
We are working with our customers to enable a smooth transition towards lower-carbon mobility. With our end-to-end support, in-house expertise, and capabilities, we provide a broad array of support services to our customers, many of whom have set ambitious net zero targets and are looking for expert support to make meaningful progress.
We are working with our customers to enable a smooth transition towards lower-carbon mobility. With our end-to-end support, in-house expertise, and capabilities, we provide a broad array of support services to our customers, many of whom have set ambitious net zero targets and are looking for expert support to make meaningful progress.
The Nurture Group is an award-winning national service provider with three leading brands: Nurture Landscapes, Gavin Jones, and Rokill Pest Control Services. They specialise in grounds maintenance and provide landscape construction, plant displays, winter gritting, and pest control services.
A valued customer since 2018, Nurture has a total Northgate fleet of over 410 vehicles, with 10 new Ford E-Transit vans recently added to their Grounds Maintenance division. They identified that approximately 50% of their carbon footprint stems from lower-mileage commercial vehicles, and fleet electrification was the best option to reduce this and contribute to their priority target of being Net Zero by 2030.
We anticipate a substantial increase in electric vehicles within our commercial fleet over the next few years, further demonstrating our commitment to operating a greener fleet. The Ford E-Transit is a monumental step forward for the vehicle EV market and is ideally suited to the needs of the Nurture Group as the vehicle meets the requirements of our day-to-day operations.
Mohib Iqbal
Group Fleet Manager at Nurture Group
Case study: Smart charging infrastructure
Supporting customers by installing smart EV charging infrastructure, user-friendly interfaces and effective usage tracking.
Smith Brothers Stores (SBS) is a prominent player in the UK’s commercial and industrial mechanical services sector. Having embarked on their electrification journey in 2018, they soon identified issues with their existing infrastructure.
In 2022, when the new smart charging regulations were enforced, they turned to ChargedEV for a comprehensive solution. This included replacing their infrastructure, upgrading to 22kW units, and implementing Chargeasy back-office management.
SBS Requirements
SBS aimed to rectify the installation, upgrade the equipment, and add it to its network while managing it on a more effective back-office management system. The infrastructure needed to be adequate to power their fleet of company vehicles across their estate, with a robust maintenance package in place.
ChargedEV, upgraded SBS’s switchgear, and installed surge protection and Protective Earth Neutral (PEN) protection. The existing infrastructure was also not Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) compliant, meaning they would need to upgrade their whole estate to ensure they could manage their network appropriately.
ChargedEV had custom mounting plates designed to be installed on their existing ground mounts, negating the need for extra civils and saving costs, time, and disruption. With no current tariff, their drivers use custom-branded RFID cards designed and supplied by ChargedEV to start and stop their charges and track usage.
As of December 2023, Smith Brothers Stores Limited’s solution has delivered 1,700 charging sessions for over 80 unique drivers.
Electrifying and upgrading 21 sites
22kW Sockets, averaging 4 per site
Over 36MWh delivered
Over 19,400kg of CO2 saved
The existing structure that we had installed had a number of issues, so we decided to remove the smart charging capabilities. We needed to find a solution that more suited our needs. The team tested the marketplace and met many suppliers at fleet events, etc, but after several months of research, we decided to move forward working with ChargedEV. This decision was based on a better-quality product, with a more stable and user-friendly interface, with a better all-around package, including a warranty, maintenance and future-proofing etc.
Andrew Teer
Transport Operations Manager at SBS
