UK businesses are set to adopt more than 163,000 electric vehicles (EVs) this year as part of a major investment in fleet electrification, according to a new study by Centrica Business Solutions.

The increase of fleet electrification would see over a third (35%) more business operated EVs on the road by the end of 2022, compared to the 121,000 registered by firms last year.

The research also found businesses spent £11.6 billion on EVs and supporting infrastructure in 2021 and are planning a 15% spending increase over the next year, taking the total investment in fleet electrification to £13.6bn.

The majority of fleet operating businesses (62%) said they expect to operate a 100% electric fleet within the next four years, ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles.

More than four in ten (44%) said they had increased the number of EVs in their fleet over the last 12 months. Key drivers for take up include meeting sustainability targets (59%), demand from employees (45%) and pressure from customers to be more environmentally friendly (43%).

Despite the record levels of planned investment, almost two thirds (63%) of businesses are worried about accessing public charging points to keep their fleet moving. To overcome the charging challenge, almost half (48%) of firms have installed EV charging points at their premises, with more than a third (36%) planning to invest in on-site charging infrastructure in the next 12 months.

The research also revealed that two fifths (40%) of businesses have invested in renewable energy generation technology such as solar panels to power their fleets, while a further two fifths (43%) plan to do so in the year ahead.

Greg McKenna, Managing Director Centrica Business Solutions said: “The UK continues to make significant inroads towards achieving its electric vehicle ambitions and it’s encouraging to see UK businesses prioritising investment in the journey towards electrification over the next 12 months.

“Businesses will continue to play a vital role in achieving the UK’s green transport ambitions, but with a record number of EVs expected to enter the UK car park this year, we must ensure the supply of vehicles and wider charging infrastructure is robust enough to meet the demand. Combining energy technology such as solar panels and battery storage into the wider charging infrastructure will help harness renewables and reduce the demand on the grid during peak charging times.”

Centrica Business Solutions
July 2022

In 2021/22, 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents. That is according to the latest figures from the HSE.

This report provides headline numbers on deaths resulting from a work-related accident in 2021/22 that were reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to any of the main enforcing authorities for health and safety at work. Numbers include both fatal injuries to workers and to members of the public. The counts for 2021/22 are currently provisional and will be finalised in July 2023 to take account of any necessary adjustments.

Headlines from the statistics include the following:

Fatal injuries to workers by main industry (2021/22)

Around a quarter of fatal injuries to workers in 2021/22 were in the Construction sector (30 deaths), with a further 18% in each of the Agriculture, forestry and fishing sector and the Manufacturing sector (22 deaths in each). This is a similar profile of deaths by industry as seen in previous years.

Fatal injuries to workers by age (2021/22)

Around a quarter of the deaths in 2021/22 were to workers aged 60 and over (29), similar to the profile in earlier years.

Main kinds of fatal accidents for workers (2021/22)

The most common kinds of fatal accidents to workers in 2021/22 continue as:

• Falls from a height.
• Struck by moving vehicle.
• Struck by moving, including flying/falling, object.
• These accounted for over half of all fatal accidents to workers in 2021/22.

Rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers

Over the long-term, there has been a downward trend in the rate of fatal injuries to workers says the report, though in the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate had been broadly flat. In both 2020/21 and 2021/22 the rate remains broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels.

The public

Eighty members of the public were also killed in 2021/22 as a result of a work-related accident (excluding deaths to ‘patients and service users’ in the healthcare and adult social care sectors in England).

HSE
July 2022