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Becoming more competitive through
electric mobility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the new fundamental challenges for companies, regardless of their size or sector. As a consequence, SMEs and large groups are now working towards implementing concrete actions to meet new requirements such as transparency, gender-equality, environmental responsibility and workplace well-being.
In short, CSR is a set of commitments made by companies to have a positive impact on society (or at least limit its negative externalities). These actions are voluntary and are researched in detail before being implemented.
How can integrating electric mobility into your CSR policy enable you to become more competitive?
First and foremost, it is important to know that Corporate Social Responsibility is a European concept, not a French one. Its definition was developed by EU members, which then led to the ISO 26000 standard. To this day, ISO 26000 is still widely used by companies wishing to engage in CSR. Implementing societal commitments within the company takes all stakeholders in order to be truly effective.
Thus, any relationship, commercial or not, may be affected by CSR policies (e.g. consumers, trade unions, suppliers …). Your company’s societal and environmental commitments must therefore have a tangible impact on management, governance and core business. A good CSR policy should enable you to improve both financial performance, brand image and employees and customers loyalty.
There are many ways to determine the impact of your company on the environment: energy consumption, carbon footprint, waste management… These different dimensions are to be considered upstream, depending on your activity. For example, for a delivery company, it is relevant to have an idea of its CO2 emissions year-round, but perhaps less so for a stationery.
Conducting personalized audits is really important to better control one’s business impact on the environment. These audits will generate opportunities for the company and encourage innovation to overcome these challenges.
If we take our example of a delivery company, it can decide, following its audit, to reduce its emissions on last mile deliveries by switching from thermal to electric vehicles. Not only will it limit its environmental impact, but it will also act as a differentiating element, giving a positive image of the company. The company may even gain new customers thanks to this transition to electric mobility.
A 2016 study showed that companies with CSR strategies increased their performance by about 13%. Indeed, CSR aims at limiting negative externalities, but also allows stakeholders to unite around common values. As individuals embrace these values, they will become increasingly involved in their work, and candidates will likely choose your company over your competitors.
Today, 8 out of 10 French people say they are ready to switch to electric if their employer offered an electric service car. Knowing that the average daily commute of an individual is 77 kilometers, offering electric service vehicles may be a high priority action to set up.
Depending on your geographic location, your employees may even encounter areas where driving polluting vehicles is prohibited.
Therefore, offering electric service vehicles answers 2 fundamental challenges for your company : building employee loyalty and overcoming the growing challenge of zero-emission mobility.
