Xero NZ gets EVs

Xero New Zealand has brought in EVs with the help of Zilch car sharing and Hyundai New Zealand, aligning with its Net Zero @ Xero initiative which sees removal of all Xero’s petrol cars from the road here and replaced with a pure electric fleet of Hyundai Konas. 

It has partnered with Zilch which delivers mobility as a service (MaaS) for Xero so the EVs can be accessed via an app or a Xero access card, plus staff will be able to book the cars for both business and private trips. 

Xero hopes this will encourage its Auckland and Wellington staff to sell that second car when they will be able to privately book a Xero Kona for the weekend or overnight. 

The company posted the switch in a blog, saying when the time came to review its domestic fleet the decision to move to electric was “a no-brainer” as, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) emit 60% fewer climate-changing emissions over their full life cycle than petrol vehicles, even when you take into account raw material extraction, battery manufacture, vehicle manufacture and shipping.

“Net Zero @ Xero is all about our commitment as a business to carbon neutrality and ways that we can reduce our impact,” Xero says.

“As part of this, we’ve invested in carbon offset projects by purchasing credits across separate carbon certified environmental projects and conservation schemes that are recognised under international standards.

“The projects are in New Zealand and Indonesia and are designed to restore indigenous forests and protect endangered species, soak up carbon dioxide directly from the air and generate clean energy with the aim of reducing future emissions.”

The Xero EVs and chargers have been designed to celebrate the Fisherman’s Bay Permanent Forest Sink Initiative, based at Akaroa in the South Island which is one of Xero’s many offset projects that Xero commits to globally. 

The Fisherman’s Bay project supports biodiversity with the yellow eyed penguin sanctuary habitat, predator control, maintenance of public access tracks, and other matters.

Xero has offset 100% of its carbon emissions for the financial year ended March 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021 and is committed to continue doing this each year into the future.

It became certified Carbon Neutral by Climate Active, the Australian Government’s certification body, in March 2021.

Globally the business is focused on reducing its fleet size and adopting other forms of sustainable mobility.

This year Xero joined The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism as a commitment to decarbonising the economy, with the goal of being net-zero carbon by 2040.

It has also launched a small business sustainability education hub. According to a Xero survey, 68% of small businesses surveyed want to operate more sustainably but don’t know where to begin. “So, we’ve collated resources from across the globe to help our small business customers and partners build more sustainable businesses.

“Additionally, we are looking to develop targets and emissions reduction strategies aligned to the Science Based Target Initiative, as well as aligning to the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework to manage climate risks and opportunities across everything we do as a business.”

Click here for more information.