5 Reasons Your SME Should Provide EV Charging
Hearing a lot of talk about EV charging but you’re not convinced?
We’re firm believers that providing EV charging is a huge asset to any SME, regardless of the industry (even if we’re a bit biased). Here’s why:
Last updated: Jul 26, 2024 • 4 min read
Summary
Providing EV charging can be a huge asset to any SME, regardless of the industry. Some of the benefits include:
- Put your business on the map.
- May improve customer dwell times.
- Improve your ESG credentials.
- Create an additional revenue stream.
- Maximise employee benefits.
Put your business on the map
With the government planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, the demand for chargepoints is increasing. Providing EV charging may help your SME to boost footfall.
If you choose to offer EV charging to the public, your chargepoints will be listed on charging maps, such as Zap-Map or the Pod Point App, helping your SME stand out from others in the local area. Drivers may also explore your products and services while they charge.
If you’re a hotel or accommodation provider, you can add EV charging as an amenity on your listings, allowing prospective guests to find you through the relevant filters on booking.com and Airbnb.
May improve customer dwell times
Leading property agent Savills found that EV charging boosted customer dwell times by up to 50% after rolling out EV charging at 29 locations. Other findings from the rollout were that EV charging helped attract new customers and win repeat business. It also helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions from visitor travel.
If you choose to provide public charging at your SME, you’ll be offering an extra incentive for any EV-driving customers who will be all too pleased to charge while they visit your business. Whether your business is a coffee shop or local art gallery, EV drivers may choose to visit for longer while they top-up their vehicle with some extra miles.
Improve your ESG credentials
The implications of climate change are becoming increasingly clear. Currently, transport is the UK’s most polluting sector, representing over a third (34%) of its total CO2 emissions. Transport is also the main cause of air pollution in cities, which has been described as a public health crisis costing the UK in the region of £6bn per year.
Installing EV chargepoints is a powerful carbon reduction initiative. Using back-end software, a number of metrics can be monitored and tracked, including the number of electric miles powered and carbon dioxide savings. This means progress can be measured against any carbon reduction targets, so the provision of EV charging can become an important part of a corporate sustainability strategy. Installing EV chargepoints can also help businesses comply with a number of sustainability schemes, including the Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS), the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), ISO 50001, the Carbon Trust Standard and the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
Create an additional revenue stream
While you can offer free charging as a perk for guests, customers or employees in order to attract customers, you’re also able to monetise your chargepoints by setting a tariff on a per hour or per kWh basis to cover your energy costs or even generate a profit.
You have the ability to set the tariff which works for you, whether that’s no tariff at all, a flat rate, or different tariffs for employees, customers and guests. Businesses can even set specific tariffs for certain days of the week and/or time of day. If you’re unsure how to price your chargepoints, speak to our team for advice on the best fit for your needs.
Maximise employee benefits
Having access to workplace charging is an additional benefit for employees and can become an affordable part of a wider benefits package, if the charging is provided at no to low cost. Providing charging can also help to attract employees and clients that are particularly conscious of environmental issues, making it even more convenient for them to visit your premises.
Tip: With government grants, installing EV charging can be more affordable than you might think.
SMEs can take advantage of government grants to reduce the cost of installing charging infrastructure, including the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), the Infrastructure grant, and the EV chargepoint grant for landlords. Depending on the type of business and installation, the WCS and the EV chargepoint grant for landlords can reduce the cost of a new chargepoint by up to £350 per socket.
Alongside the WCS there is also the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets, which helps SMEs (249 employees or less) install the infrastructure they need for chargepoints, if they are electrifying 5 spaces or more.
For full details and eligibility criteria see Pod Point’s ultimate guide to EV grants.
We hope this has given you an insight into the myriad of benefits that EV charging can have for SMEs. For more in-depth guidance on how EV charging could work for your business, please contact our SME team by submitting a commercial enquiry. Or, for further reading on all things EV, visit our guides.